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Heroes of the Nations 

A Series of Biographical Studies 
presenting the lives and work 
of certain representative his- 
torical characters, about whom 
have gathered the traditions 
of the nations to which they 
belong, and who have, in the 
majority of instances, been 
accepted as types of the sev- 
eral national ideals. 



FOR FULL LIST SEE END OF THIS VOLUME 



Iberoes of tbe IFlatlons 

EDITED BY 

1b, Xld. C. 2>avis 



FACTA DUCIS VIVENT, 0PERO3A0UE 
GLORIA RERUM OVID, IN LIVIAM, 255. 

THE HERO'S DEEDS AND HARD-WON 
FAME SHALL LIVE 



WILLIAM THE SILENT 







WILLIAM OF NASSAU, PRINCE OF ORANGE, AET. C. 24 



WILLIAM THE SILENT 

PRINCE OF ORANGE 

[1533-1584] 

AND THE REVOLT OF THE NETHERLANDS 



RUTH PUTNAM 

AUTHOR OF U A MEDIEVAL PRINCESS," " CHARLES THE BOLD," " WILLIAM 
THE SILENT," ETC. 



ILLUSTRATED 



G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 

NEW YORK AND LONDON 

Gbe IKntcfterbocfcer ipress 
1911 



4> 



Copyright, 1911 

BY 

RUTH PUTNAM 



Ci 



Qbe Knickerbocker press. Hew U?orfe 



©CI.A28SkS31 



PUBLISHERS* NOTE 

THE following biography has, in accordance 
with an engagement of some years' stand- 
ing, been prepared specifically for the " Heroes 
of the Nations Series." In preparing the text 
for the present volume the author has made 
use of the material collected for her Memoir of 
William of Orange published in two volumes in 
1895, but the present narrative is entirely rewrit- 
ten, and in its preparation the author had the 
advantage of certain later information and fresh 
material which were not available in 1895. It was 
essential for the completeness of the "Heroes 
of the Nations Series," and under the general 
plan of the undertaking, that it should include 
a biography of the great leader of the sixteenth 
century who has been so definitely accepted as 
the national hero of Holland. 

New York, February, 191 1. 



PREFACE 

AN empty niche in the gallery of the Heroes of 
the Nations •, long since dedicated to the 
figure of William of Orange, is the excuse for the 
appearance of a fresh biography within the nar- 
row compass of a single volume. At Halle, Felix 
Rachfahl passed the milestone of his sixteen hun- 
dredth page when volume ii. (1906) of his Wil- 
helrn von Oranien und der Niederlandische Auf stand 
left his narrative at 1567, with seventeen years of 
complicated events still to be treated before the 
death of Orange in 1584. His completed book 
promises, therefore, to reach a size that would be 
formidable were it not adequate to the scale. 

Between John Lothrop Motley, who introduced 
the English reading world to the Netherland strug- 
gle, and the German specialist, now exploiting the 
same field with intensive labour, Dutch, Belgian, 
German, French, and English writers, editors, and 
commentators have contributed to the literature 
and to the attainable sources of the subject. 
Frederic Harrison's monograph is charming and 
illuminating in the midst of the mountain of 



vi Preface 

publications that has been piled up since my own 
William the Silent and all alike demanded some 
consideration before the story could be retold. 

During the necessary review in the libraries here, 
in Oxford, in Paris and in London, it has been 
my good fortune to have much kindly assistance 
for which it would be difficult to give specific 
recognition, but certainly I owe especial thanks to 
Professor Blok of Leiden, whose lectures I fol- 
lowed for one semester, and to his former students, 
Drs. Japikse and Colenbrander. Then, too, I 
count myself peculiarly fortunate that the visit 
to the Dutch university happened during Robert 
Fruin's lifetime. Several interviews with the 
generous old professor emeritus were experiences 
never to be forgotten. 

The most agreeable part of the direct prepara- 
tion for this revised -memoir, was reading and 
handling manuscript matter in the archives of 
several cities. The originals contain a personality 
difficult to reproduce. Handwriting, spelling, 
erasures, and the very folding of the papers add a 
quality that eludes print. This was especially 
the case in The Hague, where the more personal 
Orange-Nassau correspondence is now easily ac- 
cessible to the student through the kindness of 
her Majesty, Queen Wilhelmina. To Dr. Kramer 
of the Koninklijke Huisarchief I would express 
my especial gratitude and no less to Dr. Bijvanck 
of the Royal Library. The treasures under their 
respective charges made the limitations of the 



Preface 



vn 



work in hand very trying, even as a summary. 
So much had to be ignored. 

I should have preferred changing the title, 
having searched in vain for any contemporaneous 
justification of the adjective " Silent" as applied to 
the man. It was the Prince's political critics of a 
later period who instituted its use as a derogatory 
term. His own friends would never have recog- 
nised it. But as English readers have adopted it 
quite without the association of a hostile slur, no 
alteration is made. It seemed wiser not to incur 
the risk of confusing this William of Orange with 
a later king by using the formal title alone. 



R. P. 



Washington, January, iqii. 




beggars' medal 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction: The Heritage of Philip II 

of Spain ...... i 

CHAPTER I 
The Nassau Family — 1 200-1 533 ... 8 

CHAPTER II 
The Prince's Youth — 1 533-1 551 ... 30 

CHAPTER III 
Military Training — 1 551-1558 ... 44 

CHAPTER IV 
Diplomatic Efforts — 1558-1559 ... 67 

CHAPTER V 

The Prince in 1559 81 

CHAPTER VI 
The Second Marriage — 1 560-1 561 . . 91 

CHAPTER VII 
The Nobles and the Cardinal — 1561-1564 . 112 



x Contents 

PAGE 

CHAPTER VIII 

The Growth of Popular Discontent — 

1564-1566 ' 146 

CHAPTER IX 
The Parting of the Ways — 1566-1567 . . 168 

CHAPTER X 
The Exile — 1568-1570 . . . .185 

CHAPTER XI 
The Capture of the Brill and After — 1572- 

1573 223 

CHAPTER XII 
The Battle of Mook Heath — 1574 . . 253 

CHAPTER XIII 
The Siege of Leiden — 1574 . . .271 

CHAPTER XIV 
New Alliances — 15 74- 15 75 • . . 288 

CHAPTER XV 
;The Pacification of Ghent — 1577 . . 333 

CHAPTER XVI 
Some Family Letters — 1576-1578 . . 358 

CHAPTER XVII 

he Union, the Ban, and the Abjuration 
— 1578-1581 379 



Contents 



XI 



CHAPTER XVIII 
The French Protector — 1 581-1582 

CHAPTER XIX 
Anjou's Failure — 1 582-1 583 



411 



432 



CHAPTER XX 

The Assassination — 1584 .... 455 

WlLHELMUSLIED 495 

Bibliography 497 

Index . 507 




ILLUSTRATIONS 



WILLIAM, PRINCE OF ORANGE, COUNT OF NASSAU, 

catzenellenbogen, etc. . Frontispiece 
From a photograph of the painting in the museum 
at Cassel. This was a copy made in 1582 for 
William of Hesse from an original loaned by- 
Count John of Nassau. Original was burned 
in 17th century. 

GENEALOGICAL TABLES 8 



:■ 



CHARLES V., EMPEROR OF GERMANY, IN 1 548 . 12 

From a photograph of the painting by Titian 
in the Pinakothek at Munich. 



COUNT WILLIAM OF NASSAU, CALLED THE ELDER 1 8 

From a photograph of the original in great hall 
of Groningen. 

THE RUINS OF DILLENBURG CASTLE IN 1 825 . 26 

NASSAU PALACE IN BRUSSELS ... 38 

From Bruxelles d, travers les dges, by Louis 
Hymans. 

ANNA OF EGMONT (COUNTESS OF BUREN), PRIN- 
CESS OF ORANGE ..... 46 

From a photograph of drawing at Arras. 



xiv Illustrations 



FACSIMILE OF LETTER, PRINCE OF ORANGE TO 

HIS WIFE ...... 58 

From photograph from original in Orange- 
Nassau family archives. 

PHILIP II. AS PRINCE OF SPAIN, I548 . . 74 

From a photograph of the painting by Titian in 
Madrid. 

VIEW OF BREDA ...... 88 

Redrawn from an old print. 

WILLIAM OF NASSAU, PRINCE OF ORANGE, ^T. 

C. 28 . . . . . . 100 

From a photograph of the original in the Mau- 
ritshuis at The Hague. It was bought from 
the Secretan collection in Paris, 1889. The 
inscription is A ntoninus Moro pingebatA . 1561. 
It is not quite certain that it represents Orange. 



ANNE OF SAXONY, PRINCESS OF ORANGE . . 1 24 

From an old print. 

FACSIMILES OF LETTERS 1 58 

ALLEGORY. NETHERLAND LION SYSTEMATICALLY 

CRUSHED BY SPANISH OFFICIALS . -174 

From an old print. 

COUNT JOHN OF NASSAU . . . . l8o 

From an old print. 

ADOLPH OF NASSAU . . . . . I98 

From a photograph of the monument erected 
on battlefield of Heiligerlee, 1868. 



Illustrations xy 

PAGE 

FACSIMILE OF LETTER OF ANNE OF SAXONY . 2IO 

ALLEGORY. THE NETHERLANDS ARE PERSONI- 
FIED AS ANDROMACHE BOUND TO A TREE. 
ORANGE COMES AS PERSEUS TO RESCUE HER 
FROM THE SPANISH MONSTER. THE IN- 
DIVIDUAL PROVINCES ARE IN A GROUP ON 

THE RIGHT 23O 

From an engraving of 1572. 

PHILIP MARNIX, SEIGNEUR DE STE. ALDEGONDE 244 

From Boland's copy of an engraving by John 
Weirix. 

COUNT LOUIS OF NASSAU .... 260 

From an old print. 

FACSIMILES OF LETTERS AND AUTOGRAPHS . 29O 

From photos of originals at The Hague. 

ALLEGORY. THE PACIFICATION OF GHENT . 334 

From a print of 1576. 

ENTRY OF THE PRINCE OF ORANGE INTO BRUSSELS, 

1577 348 

From a contemporaneous print. 

JULIANA OF STOLBERG, COUNTESS OF NASSAU . 364 

From photo of original kindly procured by 
A. V. L. of Holland. 

FACSIMILE OF LETTER OF CHARLOTTE DE BOUR- 
BON TO PRINCE OF ORANGE . . . 368 

From a photograph of original in the Huis- 
archief, The Hague. 



xvi Illustrations 



PAGE 



MAP SHOWING THE SITUATION IN 1 576 AFTER 

THE PACIFICATION OF GHENT . . . 382 

MAP SHOWING THE UNIONS, MAY, 1579 . . 382' 

WILLIAM OF NASSAU, PRINCE OF ORANGE, JET. 48 4(X) N 

From a photograph of engraving by H. Goltzius, 
1 58 1. In print cabinet, Rijksmuseum, at 
Amsterdam. 

charlotte de bourbon, princess of orange, 

.et. 31 . . . : . . . . 408 

From a photograph of original engraving by H. 
Goltzius, 1 58 1. In print cabinet, Rijks- 
museum, Amsterdam. 

LOUISE DE COLIGNY, PRINCESS OF ORANGE . 446 

From an old print. 

WILLIAM OF NASSAU, PRINCE OF ORANGE, JET. 

c. 50 466 

By M. J. Miereveld. Free composition after a 
lost portrait by Cornelis Visscher. From 
photo of original in the Rijksmuseum at Am- 
sterdam. Greek inscription is from the Medea: 
"Jove, let it not escape thy eye who is the cause 
of these misfortunes. ' ' There are copies of this 
portrait at The Hague, at Leeuwarden, at 
Delft and Amersfoort, without the Greek. 

STAIRCASE AT THE PRINZENHOF . . . 488 

From an etching. 

MAP OF THE NETHERLANDS AND REGIONS 
ADJACENT . . . At End 



/ 



MEDALS 

PAGE 

The story of the revolt of the Netherlands is illustrated 
by a series of medals struck successively by Beggars and 
royalists, by regents and States-General, by individual 
provinces and towns. The designs were not always new 
for each occasion. Frequently one reverse was made to 
do repeated service. The following are chosen as typical: 

beggars' medal, 1566 V 

Immediately after the name of Gueux or Beggars 
was assumed by the petitioners the first medals 
were struck, which were imitated in various 
forms. This has the bust of Philip II. with 
the legend, En tout fidel au roy. On the 
reverse: Jusques d, porter la besace, "In all r - 

faithful to the king even to carrying the beg- 
gar's wallet." Two hands clasped hold a 
double wallet. The medal is evidently imi- 
tated from one struck in 1559 showing Philip's 
head with the legend, Philippus Hispaniorum 
et novi occidui rex. The reverse shows two 
hands clasped, signifying there the eastern and 
western hemispheres. 

regent's medal, 1566 ..... 29 

Struck by the Duchess after she had averted re- 
bellion by the Accord. Legend: "Margaret of 
Austria, etc. — Governess of the Netherlands"; 
ei.circles the regent's bust. Reverse. — 
A/nazon crowned with laurel, a sword in her 



xviii Medals 



right hand, an olive and a palm branch in the 
other. Legend: Favente Deo. 

LEIDEN MEDAL, 1574 29 

Face, bust of Adrian van der Werf with octrain 
describing his virtues. Reverse. — Siege of 
Leiden. 

SIEGE OF HAARLEM, 1 573 . . . -43 

ORANGE MEDAL, 1572 . . . . . 66 V 

The Prince's bust with his titles of Orange and 
Nassau. Reverse. — An old oak tree with the 
roots bare. Legend (Virg., Mn., x., 284): 
Audaces For tuna juvat. Copied from a Spanish 
medal. 

HAARLEM SIEGE MONEY, 1573 • • . . 66 

ORANGE MEDAL, 1 568 . . . . 80 

One of the first medals struck by the Prince. 
Around his bust is the legend in abbreviated 
Latin: "William, by the grace of God Prince 
of Orange, Count of Nassau." Reverse. — 
v A kingfisher's nest floats on the sea. Four 
winds are turned aside by an arm out of the 
sky and lose their force against a high cliff. 
^ Legend: Scevis tranquillus in undis, "Calm in 
the cruel waters. " 

SIEGE MONEY, 1573 . . . . 90 

Money coined during siege of Haarlem. 

y 
BEGGARS' MEDAL, 1566 Ill 

Later form. The inscription in abbreviated 
Latin signifies, "Philip by the grace of God 
King of Spain, Count of Holland." En tout 
fidel. au roy is the protestation of delity 



Medals xix 

PAGE 

to him in spite of opposition to his measures. 
Reverse. — Legend continues as on first speci- 
men, but two figures replace the clasped 
hands. Both carry beggar's wallets; one has 
his hand significantly on his sword. A tiny 
cup is appended to the medal. 

SIEGE MONEY, 1574 Ill 

Money coined during siege of Leiden. Lion of 
Holland holds city arms in one hand, a pole 
with the liberty cap in the other. Legend: / 

Hcbc libertatis ergo, 1574. There were several 
other coins with inscriptions indicating re- 
sistance. 

beggars' medal on chains with cups pendant 130 

beggars' medal, 1567 . . . . . 200 

A very rare heart-shaped Beggars' medal pre- 
served in the Royal Cabinet at The Hague 
Library. On the face, Iconoclasm and Neer- 
landia trying to obtain mercy. Legends : Vive 
Dieu, la sante du roi et la prosperity des Gueux 
and Niet voor deught. Reverse. — 4 scenes, 
very small but clear. One of the legends is, 
Libertas patrice. 

HALF MOON MEDAL, 1574 .... 200 

One of the Beggar medals that became very 
popular. They were called Halve Maene, 
"Half Moons," though the Turks' crescent 
was indicated by their shape. Legend: Liever 
Turcx dan Paus, "Better Turks than Pope," 
shows the increased sentiment of hatred to- 
wards the Pope and there is no protestation of 
fidelity to the king as in the earlier medals. 
Sometimes the legend is in French: Plutot le 
Turcque que le Pape. 



xx Medals 

PAGE 

ROYAL MEDAL, 1 568 230 

The emblematic aspersions of the rebels were 
answered by a crop of medals applauding 
Alva's actions and supporting Philip's course. 
The one given here shows Philip with an un- 
sheathed sword in one hand and a laurel 
crown in the other. Legend: Pcena et Prcemio, 
"By punishment and reward." Reverse. — 
An unbridled horse. Legend is from Lucan's 
Pharsalia: Libertas liber tate peril, "Liberty 
perishes through license. " 

Note. — Bizot gives this as an Orange medal 
struck after the defeat of Tholouse. 

beggars' medal, 1572 230 

Struck after the capture of The Brill. It shows 
a sword between two human ears; on the 
sword's point is a penny, nine more lie at one 
side. On the other, spectacles and a flute. 
Legend: En tout fidelles au roy 1572. Re- 
verse. — Two nobles with medals on their 
necks and a beggar's wallet in their hands. 
Legend continues: Jusques d porter la besace. 
The ears and flute indicate the oft-repeated 
\ phrase, "Sweetly sounds the flute when the 
fowler snares the bird." 

ORANGE MEDAL, 1574 . . . . . 270 

Face. — A pyramid, symbol of David. Legend: 
Lapis rejectus caput anguli, "The stone which 
was rejected becomes the corner-stone." 
Reverse. — Jehovah in Hebrew. Legend in 
abbreviated Latin: "God did this and 
became admirable in the eyes of men. 1574. " 

RELIEF OF LEIDEN, 1 574 287 

* The face shows Jerusalem besieged by Sennach- 

erib, King of Assyria, while an angel destroys 



Medals xxi 



his soldiers. The inscription is Ut Sanherib a 
Jerusalem. 2 Reg. ig. The inscription on 
the reverse continues, sic Hispa a Leyde noctu. 
fug. "As Sanherib from Jerusalem so the S 
Spaniards fled from Leiden in the night." 
Oct. 3, 1574. 

HOLLAND MEDAL, 1 575 287 

Medal struck by the Estates of Holland and 
West Friesland. Face. — A book aflame. It 
is the book sealed with seven seals mentioned 
in the Apocalypse. It is open at the words, 
Lex crucis testimonium Domini. Legend: 
Sermo Dei, ignis inextinguibilis. Reverse. — 
Several hearts aflame. Legend: Tua manus 
fecit hoc. Domine, "Thy hand hath wrought 
this, Lord." 

ORANGE MEDAL 332 

Face. — Orange as David prepared to rescue \ „ 
Belgian lion chained near the feet of Goliath. ' 
Legend: Confidens Domino non movetur in 
cBternum, "Who trusts in God will never 
be confounded. " Reverse. — Story of Mucius 
Scaevola. Legend: Pro libertate Patrice agere 
aut pati fortiora, "To work for national liberty 
or to suffer worse things." 

UNION OF HOLLAND AND ZEALAND, L576 . . 357 

Face. — Lion rampant within the hedge, naked 
sword in one paw, a bundle of arrows in the 
other. Legend: Securius bellum pace dubia. 
Reverse. — A hat above clasped hand. Legend: 
Libertas concordia vindicata. This commem- 
orates the rupture of the Breda peace confer- 
ence and the union of Holland and Zealand. 

ROYAL PEACE MEDAL, 1577 . . . 378 

Commemorates Peace of Marche-en-Famine from 
royalist point of view. Justice enthroned. 



xxii Medals 

PAGE 

Peace is burning arms on her right. Abun- 
dance is on her left. Legend: Justitia pacem, 
copiam Pax attulit. Reverse. — Liberty hold- 
ing in one hand a palm and a sword near 
which are chains and broken irons. Her 
other hand holds a hat above two olive branches 
springing from a crown above a heart which 
rests on hands clasped over a lion couchant. 

MEDAL OF STATES-GENERAL, 1579 . . . 4IO 

Struck by States-General after rupture of 
peace negotiations at Cologne. Face. — The 
Pope and Philip II. The King caresses the Bel- 
gian lion, offering it an olive branch with one 
hand while the other hides a collar. Legend: 
Liber leo pernegat revinciri, "The free lion re- 
fuses to be bound again. " Reverse. — The 
Inquisition on a pillar to which a lion is at- 
tached. A mouse gnaws his chain. Legend: 
Rosis leonem loris mus liberal. 



J 



UNION OF UTRECHT, 1579 .... 4IO 

Face. — Two vessels approaching each other. 
Utrecht in the distance. Legend: Frangimur 
si collidimur, "We shall be shattered if we 
collide." Reverse. — A yoke of oxen dragging 
a cart. Legend: Trahite cequo jugo, "Draw 

*" with an equal yoke." The emblems are a 
warning of the dangers of division. 



ANJOU MEDAL, 1582 ..... 416 

Belgian lion couchant appeals to Anjou flying 
down to the rescue. The name of Jehovah is 
above him. Legend : Belgia renascere. Reverse. 
— Three small circles. 1st shows a horse with- 
out a driver and an overturned waggon. Le- 
gend: Vis consilii ex per s mole r nil sua," Strength 



Medals xxiii 



without judgment is destroyed by its own 
weight." 2d. Horse and waggon with a 
driver. Legend: Deus vim tempera [tarn] 
provehit, "God transports tempered strength." 
3d. Arms of the Duke of Brabant. Legend: 
Res parvcB crescunt concordia, "Little things 
wax great through harmony." 

ORANGE MEDAL, 1582 ..... 416 

Jaureguy's attack. Assassin in act of shooting. 
Legend: Proditione non armis agitur, "It is 
done by treachery not arms." Reverse. — 
Three figures with Jehovah above. Legend: 
Proditor tandem luct, "The traitor finally 
makes atonement. " 

ANJOU MEDAL, 1 582 436 

There were numerous Anjou medals. This 
shows him bareheaded surrounded by his 
titles, including the new ones of Flanders and 
Brabant. Reverse. — A sun. Legend: Fovet 
et discutit, "He cherishes and dissipates." 
The fervour did not last long. 

ANJOU's TREACHERY, 1583 . . . 436 

The Netherlands appear as a woman held fast 
by Anjou aided by King of Spain. But a 
lion leaps on the scene [the courage of the 
people] and rescues her [another form of this 
shows the astonished Prince of Orange as a 
spectator]. Legend: Ubi rex in populum 
tiranus 1583. Reverse. — Neerlandia tram- 
ples shackles under foot, snatches her right 
hand from Anjou's and shows him a broken ' 
ring. Legend continues: Populo jure divino 
et humano divortiam, "Wherever a king is a 
tyrant to the people a divorce [is permissible] 
to the people by law divine and human." 



xxiv Medals 



ORANGE MEDAL, 1584 493 

The death of the Prince of Orange was com- 
memorated by several medals. One shows 
Gerard saluting Orange. Behind the former 
stands Philip who is authorising the crime with 
his sceptre. Legend : dirum scelus, non mane- 
bit inultum, "O dreadful deed, it will not 
remain unavenged." Reverse. — A shepherd 
in the midst of his flock attacked by a wolf. 
Legend: Ne vos credite lupo — pastor em occidit, 
"Do not trust the wolf. He has slain the 
shepherd. " 

MEDAL OF STATES-GENERAL, 1584 . . . 493 

Official medal struck by the States-General. 
Head of Orange with an encircling inscrip- 
tion in abbreviated Latin signifying "Wil- 
liam, by the grace of God Prince of Orange, 
Count of Nassau, born at Dillenburg, 1533, 
has governed these provinces during 15 years 
with the greatest prudence and has died in an 
unfortunate manner at Delft in the year 1584." 
Inscription under the bust signifies, "Although 
the bones fall to ashes, his valour will survive. " 
Reverse. — The halcyon on the ocean, Jehovah 
indicated above. The Prince's device as in- 
scription: ScBvis tranquillus in undis. Design 
almost identical with that used in 1568. 

Zealand's Medal 496 

Reverse of above is repeated in main details. 
Face shows arms and device of the province: 
Luctor et emergo. Another shows the same 
reverse, while the face depicts the actual 
scene of the assassination with the figure of 
Philip in the background. 



ERRATA 

Page 37, footnote — For Landgrave read Landgraf. 

" 77, line 14, page 104, lines 15 and 16 — For Martigny read 
Montigny. 
166, line 26 — For June 8 th read April 8 th. 
194, line 5 — For curamos read curamus. 
207, line 5 — For making saltpetre read working saltpetre. 
277, footnote — For Prinz Willen read Prinz Willem. 
302, footnote, line 2 — For Qeen read Queen. 
308, line 21 — For Frederick will not wrong me read you 

will not wrong me. 
354, line 24 — For aivisan read avisan. 
372, line 25 — For will, read will 
445, footnote — For Bewij's read Bewijs. 
Proper names occur in various forms in quoted matter. 



WILLIAM THE SILENT 



INTRODUCTION 

THE HERITAGE OF PHILIP II. OF SPAIN 

ON Easter Sunday, in the year 1521, mass was 
celebrated on the Pacific island of Cebu, 
in the presence of awestruck natives beholding 
for the first time the mystic rites of the Roman 
Church. Then the Portuguese Ferdinand Ma- 
gellan watched with reverent eyes the elevation 
of a mighty cross on a mountain side, rejoicing 
that it cast the shadow of the Faith upon the 
pagan strand. 

The temporal jurisdiction of the island group he 
claimed for the King of Spain, Charles I., better 
known as the Emperor Charles V., whose gracious 
patronage had enabled the venturous navigator 
to reach the far East by dint of sailing persistently 
westward through the sea beyond the straits which 
preserve the memory of his name. To the explorer, 
the East proved the final goal of his course. His 



2 - William the Silent 

attempts to exalt a chief, an imperial god-child 
newly baptised as Don Carlos, to a supremacy 
over his fellow chiefs brought on a wretched little 
native war, wherein Magellan lost his life. But 
the enterprise he had set in motion was carried 
out by at least one ship of his outward bound fleet. 
The Victoria returned to Seville (September, 
1522) to prove that the globe could be successfully 
circumnavigated, and that the Spanish flag and 
the message of the Church had been carried to the 
uttermost parts of the earth. 

While the realm of Charles V. and the spiritual 
jurisdiction of the Pope were thus being extended, 
the ultimate authority of both potentates was 
exposed to danger in Germany. During the 
very Easter tide of 1521 when Magellan raised his 
cross, the famous diet was sitting at Worms. In 
the fortnight following the festival, Luther's 
protests were heard and the cleft in the political 
Church universal began to be visible. 

It chanced that these two widely separated 
events are both mentioned when still fresh, in some 
pleasant letters between the Italian Bishop 
Chiericati and Isabella d'Este. The prelate, a 
pious and sincere son of the Church, had been 
entrusted with a special mission to Germany to 
smooth over the theological disputes spreading 
from Wiirtemberg to other quarters of the empire. 
"A noble mission" is the comment of the Dutch 
Erasmus. 

On his northward journey the good man cher- 



The Heritage of Philip II. of Spain 3 

ished hope of success. Then came disappoint- 
ment. He was in the habit of corresponding with 
the cultivated Duchess on many matters of general 
interest, and it is in one of these leisurely friendly 
epistles that he writes (1522): 

I assure your Excellency that Luther's doctrine has 
already so many roots in the earth that a thousand 
persons could not pull them up. Certainly I alone 
could not. But I will do what little I can, although 
threats and persecutions are not wanting. Every day 
I am subjected to villainous insults, but I try to take 
all these things patiently for the love of God, knowing 
that they will be counted to me as martyrdom. . . . Now 
they have begun to preach that the sacrament of the 
altar is not a true sacrament, and is not to be wor- 
shipped, but only celebrated in memory of Christ. 
And they say that the Blessed Virgin has no merit as 
the Mother of Christ, and that she bore other sons 
to Joseph. Every day things go from bad to worse. 
I pray God to put forth His hand. 

Then the faithful and devoted prelate tells 
Isabella how much he is distressed at the secular 
spirit of the northern clergy. But the writer 
checks himself in this out-pouring, conscious that 
theological topics will only excite a languid though 
polite interest in the lady of the Renaissance. He 
turns to other subjects to fill out his letter and 
touches on the wonderful tales brought home by 
his Vicentine servant, Antonio Pigafetta, who had 
been with Magellan on the Easter Sunday of 152 1. 

I send your Excellency an account of the Spanish 



4 William the Silent 

expedition . . . and I hope that in a few days your 
Excellency may have the great pleasure of speaking 
with my servant, who has just returned from this 
voyage around the world. For certainly this journey 
is a greater one than any man has ever taken before, 
since he and his comrades circumnavigated the whole 
of the globe, . . . sailing . . . until they reached the 
Canary Islands, returning to their own land by the 
opposite way, having gained not only great riches but 
what is worth more — immortality. 

For surely this has thrown all the deeds of the 
Argonauts into the shade. Here we have a long 
account of the expedition which his Caesarian Majesty 
has sent to the Archduke Ferdinand, who has kindly 
shown it to me, and has also given me some of the 
spices which were brought from those parts, with 
boughs and leaves of the trees from which they are 
made. Caesar has also sent his Serene Highness a 
painted map of the course pursued and a very beauti- 
ful bird which the kings of those countries bear with 
them when they go to battle and say they cannot die 
as long as it is by their side. It seems to be a very 
rare bird and here they call it a phoenix; et de his 
ratio, 

A few weeks later, Isabella receives Pigafetta's 
itinerary from Chiericati, and on February 3, 1523, 
she writes : 

If your servant who has returned so full of knowledge 
from those parts and whom, indeed, we envy greatly, 
should happen to come this way, we shall be delighted 
to see him for, as you will understand, it is a far greater 
pleasure to hear of these new marvellous lands from a 



The Heritage of Philip II of Spain 5 

living person than merely to read about them. So 
if you can send him to Mantua, we shall be deeply 
indebted to you. 

At the same time the lady courteously congratu- 
lated the bishop on his success in persuading the 
German princes to take arms against the Turk, 
and condoled with him over the difficulties which 
he had encountered at Nuremberg. 

May our Lord God give you the power necessary 
to extinguish that shameful and diabolical Lutheran 
sect. You must not allow yourself to be disheartened 
by the insults and opposition that you receive, remem- 
bering that it is the same in all important undertakings 
and that the greater your difficulties are, the greater 
will be your glory. 

The wonderful voyage bore fruits. Twenty-one 
years later, the great group of islands within which 
Magellan's cross had stood, the advance-guard of 
Rome in the Orient, was classed as belonging to the 
Western Hemisphere and received a new name as 
the adopted daughter of Spain. It was at the 
command of Ruy Lopez de Villabos, following 
the trail blazed by Magellan, that a portion of 
the archipelago was christened Las Felipinas, in 
honour of " our fortunate prince," later Philip II. 
of Spain, whose name thus remains commemorated 
by that of the latest comer into the circle of the 
dependencies of the United States of America. 

In 1543, what prince could have seemed more 
fortunate than this same godfather to an archi- 



6 William the Silent 

pelago? Was not his wonderful heritage well 
supported? Had not Alexander VI. issued a valid 
deed in his papal bulls of May, 1493, definitely 
dividing "the world like an orange," 1 — all the 
countries not held by Christian princes, — between 
Spain and Portugal? And half a century later 
the actual extent of this land grant was realised. 
Such is the popular estimate of the famous Line of 
Demarcation. The beneficiaries, to be sure, seemed 
to base their practical rights rather on their own 
treaty of Tordesillas than on Alexander's donation, 
but of such rights they certainly had no doubt. 
The result of bulls and treaties was that the pale 
between the powers was considered to be a line 
370 west of the Cape Verde Islands, Spanish prop- 
erty lying west, Portuguese east of the boundary. 
Out of all South America, Brazil fell to Portugal's 
share. In the Orient the Philippine Islands were 
juggled within Spanish claims, and for more than 
three centuries the island clocks ticked sixteen 
hours later than Madrid time instead of eight hours 
earlier. From 1543 to 1555, while a Spanish king 
still wore the imperial crown, the nominal juris- 
diction of that monarch was the widest. With the 
abdication of Charles V. the area began to shrink. 
Since then other territories outside of the penin- 
sula have fallen off, one by one. The Philippine 
archipelago was the last to be detached from their 

1 Sabese la concession del Papa Alexandro; division del mundo 
como una naranjo. Letter of Alonzo De Zuazo to Charles 
V M Jan. 22, 1518. 



The Heritage of Philip II. of Spain 7 

Spanish allegiance in 1898. The process has been 
slow. 

At the moment (1555) when the "fortunate 
prince" Philip took over the sovereignty of the 
Netherlands from his father, the Emperor was 
supported in his physical feebleness by a pleasant 
faced youth, devoted to his service, a youth equally 
fortunate in his own sphere of worldly prosperity, 
William of Nassau, Prince of Orange. Between 
the two princes, the greater and the lesser, arose a 
contest over the extent to which he of Spain might 
exert that inherited sovereignty after the ruler had 
left the northern lands and the Burgundian tra- 
dition and was devoting himself to being the most 
Catholic King of Spain and of the Indies and to 
enforcing the observation of one universal religion 
in every corner of his dominions. 

Behind monarch and noble is the background 
of the facts of the world discoveries and of the 
insistance of the Protestant Revolt, facts just 
beginning to be felt when these two men were born, 
— facts that differentiated their sixteenth century 
from its predecessors. That background and the 
political setting of Europe are taken for granted 
in this volume. This is the personal story of 
William of Nassau, titular sovereign of the tiny 
principality chiefly renowned on account of this 
man — always an absentee, yet the best known to 
fame of the long line of Princes of Orange. 



CHAPTER I 

THE NASSAU FAMILY 

i 200-1 533 

THE acknowledged founder of the Dutch Re- 
public, William of Nassau, may be said to 
have had two lines of forbears, each affecting his 
life, one directly, one politically, and from both 
were handed down traits and tendencies potent 
in their influence on his own independent career 
as in their contribution to the fortunes and to 
the titles that determined his rank and position. 
These two strands of the family past were woven 
closely into his personality. The man could 
hardly have been the individual that he was, had 
a single thread of that double gift of ancestors and 
predecessors been omitted from his heritage. 1 

The Nassaus were an old, well established clan 
of German nobles. There had been one emperor 
among them, but they were not of the very 

1 This chapter is based on Arnoldi, Geschichte der Oranien- 
Nassauischen Lander und ihrer Regenten, vol. iii. ; also Rachfahl, 
Wilhelm v. Oranien, vol. i., books i. and ii. and Jacobs's Juliana 
v. Stolberg, p. 45, etc.; and the Orange-Nassau family archives at 
The Hague. Notes in Nyhoff's Dutch translation of Putnam's 
William the Silent have also given valuable suggestions. 

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[1200-1533] The Nassau Family 9 

highest rank in the empire. From the eleventh 
century on, their lineage is written in clear char- 
acters. The family tree was a flourishing growth 
in the lovely land of Nassau, a pretty hill country 
not far from Coblence and Frankfort, watered by 
the Lahn, a Rhine tributary, — a land rich in 
wonderful, beneficent springs. Tradition, indeed, 
carries the roots of this genealogical tree back to 
Roman times, but the most veracious chroniclers, 
while eager to render all honour to the illustrious 
race, declare that the renown of the descendants 
is sufficient to allow that claim to be rated as 
unproven, though highly probable. 

Strict primogeniture did not prevail in the 
House of Nassau. The eldest sons were not 
exclusive heirs. All brothers received a portion 
and all wore the title. As the family ramified 
within the little stretch of territory, the title was 
existent in more than one of various castles perched 
on the rounded hill-tops congenial to the mediaeval 
builder. 

There were two main limbs of the ancient, 
ancestral tree, the Walramian and the Ottoman. 
The Nassau- Dillenburg branch of the Ottoman 
stem, from which sprang William the Silent, had 
a peculiar history of its own. 

Just at the dawn of the fifteenth century there 
were four brothers with no prospect of heirs to any. 
One of these, Engelbert, was on the eve of taking 
Holy Orders, a profession to which he had been 
dedicated from birth, when he changed his mind, 



10 William the Silent 



[1200- 



abandoned his celibate calling, and married (1404) 
Johanna, sole heiress of the Lord of Polanen, 
Leek, and Breda, rich estates in and near Brabant, 
far down the Rhine, remote from the hills and 
valleys of Nassau, and under wholly different 
political influences. 

Engelbert's two sons, John and Henry, became 
heirs to their childless uncles and to their father. 
Henry had no issue and John's two sons, Engelbert 
II. and John V., divided the estates, the former 
taking the lands west, the latter those east, of 
the Rhine. Moreover, in 1475, a definite pact 
was made providing that this rule of partition 
should be adopted in perpetuity — failure of heirs 
in one branch throwing the property into the 
other, but for division, not consolidation, and the 
agreement was duly carried out. The successive 
Nassaus who inherited the lower German estates 
entered upon larger fortunes, however, than mere 
fruitful acres and revenues continually augmented 
by the dowries of rich brides. 

The first Engelbert began his political career 
in the service of Jacqueline, J the luckless Countess 
of Holland, Duchess of Brabant, etc., and ended 
it in the more lucrative employ of her ambitious 
cousin, Philip of Burgundy. The second Engel- 
bert of Nassau-Breda played an important part 
in the suite of Charles the Bold, was captured 
at Nancy (1477), and forced to leave a heavy 

1 See A Mediaeval Princess, Ruth Putnam. 






1533] The Nassau Family II 

ransom with the Swiss before he could return to 
the Netherlands, where he did faithful service to 
Mary of Burgundy, and to Maximilian after her, 
until the day of his own death (1504). 

In provision for that event, Engelbert, having 
no son, had taken under his charge his eldest 
nephew, Henry, whom he educated as his own 
heir, while Henry's brother, Count William, was 
content to succeed their father, John V., in the 
enjoyment and administration of the Nassau- 
Dillenburg estates, in accordance with the division 
of family property that had become traditional. 

William was the father, but Henry was the 
political predecessor, of the subject of this biog- 
raphy, and a slight outline of his career is an 
essential part of the story. Born in Nassau in the 
same year as Luther, 1483, Count Henry spent 
nearly his whole life in the court atmosphere 
into which he was introduced by his uncle Engel- 
bert at a very early age. He was one of the fore- 
most nobles among the Knights of the Golden 
Fleece during the period of Maximilian's regency. 
He was stadtholder, envoy, state councillor, 
military commander, in turn, besides being tem- 
porarily one of the young king's guardians, but 
his greatest personal success was the service he 
was able to render at the time of the imperial 
election in 15 19. 

After Maximilian's death, the accession of his 
grandson to the empire was by no means a fore- 
gone conclusion. Henry VIII. of England and 



12 William the Silent [1200- 

Francis I. of France were also candidates for 
the imperial crown, and the latter was, for a time, 
rather a formidable rival. Henry of Nassau was 
appointed head of an embassy sent by Charles 
to Germany to look after his interests. Prac- 
tically, the Count was chairman of a National 
Committee selected by the candidate with special 
reference to the local political conditions in the 
empire. Henry's duty was to interview each 
individual elector, ascertain how he intended to 
cast his vote, and use his influence to turn his 
choice to Charles. 

Charles had considered that Henry's wide 
acquaintance in Germany might be a very impor- 
tant factor in affecting the campaign. In an 
autograph letter he promises the Count two 
thousand guilders for his journey, besides his 
expenses, while he wrote to his aunt, the Regent 
Margaret: "This matter of the imperial crown is 
the most important question that has arisen in 
our regard, and we must employ the best servants 
that stand at our service." 

Englishmen there were who sneered at Henry's 
diplomatic powers, ranking him as inferior to the 
French and papal envoys, but he accomplished 
his object. The Elector of Mayence was the 
first one to be "convinced," and then more 
electioneering followed before the votes were cast 
at Frankfort. The electors of Trier and of 
Brandenburg were inclined toward Francis I. 
The Elector of Saxony was asked to be a candidate 




CHARLES V., 1548 
BY TITIAN 



1533] The Nassau Family 1 3 

himself, but he declined definitely in favour of 
Charles, and that decided the matter. The 
election was finally unanimous. In the debates, 
a national sentiment was invoked. Much stress 
was laid on the German descent of Charles, his 
Spanish blood was made little of, while Francis 
was characterised as a foreigner to all things 
German. For Henry's efficiency in the campaign 
he was not only ready to receive credit but counted 
it one of the proudest achievements of his life. 

As a military commander, the Count displayed 
a certain amount of ability, but his last offensive 
expedition against France did not add greatly 
to his reputation. He certainly ranked higher 
in diplomacy than in military science. That is, 
he was of a distinctly different type from Maxi- 
milian van Buren, for example, whose soul was in 
the field. He was always statesman rather than 
general. 

Henry was present at Worms in 1521, and saw 
the beginnings and first seventeen years of the 
Protestant revolt; but he had not the slightest 
leaning toward the new ideas as they gradually 
took shape. Nor were his sympathies in the 
least inclined towards the reforming party from 
political reasons. He was a Burgundian in so 
far as that term may be used to denote a member 
of the never stationary Austro-Burgundian court. 
His interests were bound up with those of his 
imperial master rather than with any land, and 
he respected legitimacy in Church and State. To 



14 William the Silent [1200- 

him the Protestant movement was simply a mani- 
festation of unruly anarchy. 

His advice to the priests who complained of 
the encroachments of Lutheranism upon their 
domain was simple: "Go and preach the message 
of Christ like Luther, only louder, and yield to 
no one." He agreed with Margaret of Austria, 
aunt of Charles V., that learned churchmen could 
eventually command more attention than a 
single unscholarly monk (ungelehrter Monch) if 
they only exerted themselves to good purpose. 

Henry's first marriage with Francesca of Savoy 
brought him neither children nor permanent 
riches, as the dowry had to be returned to her 
family on the death of the young wife. After a 
brief widowerhood, the hand of his second wife, 
Claudia of Orange-Chalons, was given to him 
by King Francis in acknowledgment of Count 
Henry's services in smoothing over difficulties 
between him and the Emperor. Claudia was an 
excellent partie, and the one son, Rene, whom 
she bore to Count Henry, became sole heir to her 
brother Philibert, Prince of Orange, an event of 
permanent moment in the Nassau family history. 

The Burgundian court had known several 
successive Princes of Orange, just as it had the 
divers counts of Nassau, so that Rene united two 
lines of courtiers in his person. When Rene 
succeeded his father, in 1538, as Count of Nassau, 
he had already been Prince of Orange for eight 
years, his uncle Philibert having died in 1530. 



1533] The Nassau Family 15 

The young Prince was then twenty years old and 
free from guardianship, but he turned to his 
Nassau uncle for advice, and Count William 
hastened down to Brabant to give his nephew 
counsel, and to remind him that there were 
Nassau claims which he must consider in entering 
on his new heritage. 

Rene had troubles of his own. The French 
King was disposed to make serious difficulties 
about his accession to the Orange-Chalons estates. 
Countess Menzia, Henry's third wife, claimed 
more than her step-son thought just, and there 
were various other obstructions bristling in his 
path to ease. On his part, his uncle, Count 
William, pointed out to him that he had carried 
a large share of burdens, of which Henry should 
have taken a portion — allowances to the women 
of the family, the legal expenses of a certain 
lawsuit that had afflicted the family for many long 
years, etc. 

Count William of Nassau was called the Rich, 
but he was often closely pressed for cash and found 
it very hard to meet his obligations. He was 
interested in furthering an alliance for his nephew 
that would bring fresh money to the family 
coffers and he made a journey to France which 
led to a marriage between Rene and Anne of 
Lorraine. 

Rene entered into public life at a school-boy 
age. His two famous lines of predecessors left 
empty offices behind them. He was only twelve 



1 6 William the Silent 



[1200- 



years old when appointed Stadtholder of the 
Franche-Comte. This Burgundian post, formerly 
filled by the French Prince of Orange, bestowed 
emoluments upon the minor long before he could 
assume the duties. At twenty-two, Rene re- 
ceived the Order of the Golden Fleece and the 
appointment as Stadtholder of Holland, Zealand, 
Friesland, and Utrecht. In discharge of the 
latter office he was plunged into immediate con- 
flict with the troops of Guelderland under Martin 
van Rossem, a formidable antagonist for the 
youth described by Brantdme as "a very young 
prince, inexperienced though courageous and 
brave like all the members of his House." 

The hostilities recurring periodically between 
Francis I. and Charles V. were active in 1544. 
The latter began aggressive operations in France, 
and among the generals of the invading army was 
Rene of Nassau, Prince of Orange. This was not 
long after the death of his one little legitimate 
daughter, at three weeks of age. Rene was thus 
without direct heirs, but sound health and the 
flush of youth seemed to promise long life with 
all its possibilities. 

What then led to the testamentary disposition 
of his heritage? Count William of Nassau was 
the legal heir-at-law to a portion of this, in ac- 
cordance with the ancient family pact of '1475. 
But by this date his theological proclivities were 
well known. He was ranged among the Protest- 
ants, the party of the opposition, and it is very 



1533] The Nassau Family 17 

probable that when Charles V. gave permission 
to Prince Rene, in May, 1544, to bequeath his 
estates to the eldest son of his father's brother, 
to William of Nassau-Dillenburg, — then eleven 
years of age, — he was actuated by a definite pur- 
pose, a desire expressly to exclude the convinced 
father in favour of the malleable son. On the 
testator's part it may have been a mere conven- 
tionality to make a will before exposing himself 
to danger. Assuredly there could have been little 
expectation that the almost impromptu document, 
signed by Rene on June 20th, would ever have 
to be proved. 

On July 8th the invading imperial forces reached 
St. Dizier which it was determined to reduce by 
siege. After a week of waiting, Prince Rene was 
ordered by Gonzaga, in command of the expe- 
dition, to take up a position by the Marne, to 
repulse a possible sally of the besieged. A 
skirmish ensued in which Rene was hit by a cannon- 
ball. He was carried into his tent, and received 
the most tender care, the Emperor himself visiting 
him. It was evident that the wound was mortal 
and the imperial kiss of sympathy was a last 
farewell. After lingering until July 21st the 
Prince died, and his residuary legatee, the boy 
cousin. referred to, came into the title, which he 
was to make more widely known than it had ever 
been in the possession of his predecessors. z 

1 There was an article in Ren6's will providing for one illegiti- 
mate son, known as Palamede of Chalons. 



1 8 William the Silent [1200- 

During the years that Henry of Nassau played 
out his part in pompous Burgundian pageants 
on a European stage, his brother William had 
pursued a less eventful existence, first under the 
guidance of, and then as successor to, their father, 
Count John, whose death, in 1516, left him the 
headship of the German Nassaus, formally re- 
nounced by Count Henry for himself and his 
heirs. 

There were several castles used by the family, 
Siegen among them, but in the sixteenth century 
the chief residence of Count William's branch was 
Dillenburg, charmingly situated on a hill, over- 
looking a fertile rolling country. The little river 
Dill flowed at the base on one side and a cluster 
of houses nestled on the other. Certain sover- 
eign rights over village and district were enjoyed 
by the counts of Nassau and many responsibilities 
besides those of county magistrate fell upon their 
shoulders as they were accountable to the Emperor 
alone in temporal matters. 

Affairs did not always run smoothly during the 
forty-three years of Count William's adminis- 
tration, and he often had to struggle with serious 
pecuniary difficulties. One particular lawsuit 
already mentioned dominated his career and 
furnished him engrossing occupation. His moth- 
er's brother, the Landgrave of Hesse, had died 
without children; and the Nassaus urged that 
the Hesse-Cassel cousin succeeding to the land- 
graviate had no claim to certain Catzenellenbogen 




COUNT WILLIAM OF NASSAU 
CALLED THE ELDER 



1533] The Nassau Family 19 

estates derived from the mother of the childless 
landgrave and of Elizabeth of Hesse, Countess of 
Nassau. The suit brought against the Hesses to 
support this claim began with the sixteenth cen- 
tury and had been pending fifteen years when 
Count John died. Count William took up the suit 
and carried it on for forty- two years. During 
the whole period when it was in litigation, over 
half a century, no diet was held without a presen- 
tation of the merits of the case. The Protestant 
revolt came, passed through various phases, and 
was rooted firmly in Germany while the lawsuit 
languished on, hampering both litigants in other 
matters, and costing, all told, several tons of 
gold! 

At the beginning, the case was in the supreme 
court of the empire, later (1520), Charles V. 
assumed personal jurisdiction over it, as was with- 
in his prerogative to do. He was not, however, in 
residence anywhere long enough for any hearing 
to be completed, therefore he appointed a special 
commission to settle the issue. More complica- 
tions ensued as the commission had no power of 
enforcing the opinion it pronounced, and its 
term was limited. Successive commissions, in- 
deed, expired without any result to their labours. 

The final agreement reached was contained in a 
voluminous document, overweighted with details, 
of which the gist was that to the Hesses was 
adjudged the major part of the landed estates of 
Catzenellenbogen-Dietz, charged, however, with an 



20 William the Silent 11200- 

indemnity to the Nassaus. The latter were en- 
titled to the arms and title of Catzenellenbogen, 
while the Hesses were to wear those of Dietz. In 
case of the extinction of the Nassau-Dillenburg 
family, the Hesses were to have the option of 
redeeming the ceded land. Thus the suit ended, 
and its conclusion satisfied no one except possibly 
the arbitrators! 

Landgrave Philip, the opposing party in the 
suit, was a hard fighter. He was called the 
Magnanimous, and became a leader of the Pro- 
testant party, but many of his methods were far 
from magnanimous, and he lost no opportunity 
of showing his ill-will toward Nassau. 

In 1 52 1, Count William was present at the 
Diet of Worms in the interest of this lawsuit, 
and chanced to hear Martin Luther's sturdy 
defence of his own position and his protest against 
ecclesiastical abuses, made in a fashion so strenu- 
ous that attention was enforced to ideas which 
had, indeed, been repeatedly formulated in various 
shapes by divers reformers during the sixteen 
centuries of the Christian Church, but hitherto 
swept aside as the murmurs of insignificant 
heretical dreamers, — to be ignored or punished 
by lay authorities on the recommendation of 
ecclesiastics. 

Count William was inclined to agree with 
Luther on certain points. He had, indeed, been 
fighting the sale of indulgences within his own 
jurisdiction since 151 8. But he did not at once 



15331 The Nassau Family 21 

throw in his fortunes with the protesting princes. 
His reform measures were slow to come and were 
such as any fair-minded non-militant country- 
gentleman might have adopted. He stood so 
long indeed at the parting of the theological ways 
that he was a target for both parties. Count 
Henry, solicitous for his brother's worldly interests, 
and desirous of keeping him from alienating the 
Emperor, wrote several earnest letters eloquent 
in arguments against the dangerous "novelties." 
On the other hand, the Protestant princes in 
Germany were equally solicitous to win a convert. 
In the spring of 1526, Duke Hans Frederick of 
Saxony visited Dillenburg to bring his influence 
to bear upon the hesitating noble. After his 
departure he sent various polemical pamphlets 
to the Count to reinforce his verbal arguments. 
With the first packet the Duke sent the following 
note : ' ' As I promised to give you some of Luther's 
writings, I despatch herewith as many as I can 
lay my hands upon at this moment. Out of 
these and with God's help, I hope to make a good 
Christian of you." 

Another seven years passed, however, during 
which mass continued to be celebrated in the 
Dillenburg chapel. Meanwhile, other visitors 
brought other arguments whose purpose was to 
turn Count William in the opposite direction to 
that desired by the Duke of Saxony. 

In !533» Hartmuth of Cronenburg arrived 
at Dillenburg as a special messenger from the 



22 William the Silent 



[1200- 



Emperor's nephew, Ferdinand, to induce Count 
William to accept the imperial nomination to the 
Order of the Golden Fleece. But the statutes of 
the Order, which the envoy had to show the nomi- 
nee, made it plain that an acceptance of the 
flattering invitation would imply adherence to the 
tenets of the ancient Catholic faith with all its 
doctrines, just as subscription to the Augsburg 
Confession was an essential step to belonging to 
the League of Schmalkald. The knight's collar 
was intended to yoke Count William to the im- 
perial service ; it was a direct bid to keep him out 
of the Protestant League. William made his 
choice in declining the proffered honour. 

When at last the first definite steps in regard to 
the adoption of a new ritual in Nassau took place 
in 1533, the year of this refusal to enter the Order, 
there were no violent reform measures. Portions 
of the Roman ceremonial were retained and each 
pastor followed his own methods without precise 
definition of creeds or usages. Some confusion 
resulted, and as time passed Count William felt 
called upon to bring order from chaos. In 1536, 
a handbook for the pastors was prepared, con- 
taining the "Nassau Church Regulations," to 
which William himself wrote the introduction. 
After mentioning the abuses that had crept into 
the Church services, he states that the Nuremberg 
Confession contained all that was needful for 
religious instruction, and added that he was dis- 
pleased to note that the pastors had not adhered 



1533] The Nassau Family 23 

to it faithfully but had permitted to their people 
the "familiar leaven and yeast of their inherited 
fables," though perhaps rather from simplicity 
than from lack of understanding. "And as we are 
unwilling to permit the handful of subjects com- 
mitted to our charge by God to suffer deprivation 
of His eternally blessed word, we have considered 
it necessary to come to the aid of your ignorance 
with a little commentary for your illumination 
and instruction. " 

The Regulation prescribed the use of German 
in the rite of baptism, the communion in both 
kinds, and the instruction of the youth in the true 
meaning of the sacraments. After the communion, 
the mass was to be celebrated in "ordinary 
clothing and with innocent ceremonies." The 
elevation of the Host was expressly forbidden, as 
well as private or week-day masses. In the early 
morning there might be a brief sermon or the 
reading of the Scripture, or an epistle with an 
exposition of the same and a prayer. 

In places where week-day mass was not usually 
celebrated, there should be a Wednesday sermon. 
Auricular confession was forbidden. Both con- 
fession and absolution were to be general. The 
religious education of the children was strictly 
prescribed as well as the number of festivals (26) 
to be observed annually, and Lenten fasts were 
prohibited. The education and life of the pastors 
were prescribed and marriage recommended. 
In every church there were to be two Bibles, one 



24 William the Silent ri200- 

Latin, one German. A synod of pastors was to 
assemble twice a year, alternately in Dillenburg 
and Siegen, to discuss improvements, etc., and a 
superintendent was to visit the parishes at stated 
times. 

As early as 1526, the petty princes of Germany 
had begun to exercise the right, claimed at the 
Diet of Speier, of regulating ecclesiastical matters, 
each within his own territory. A State Church 
had been organised in Hesse, Nassau's nearest 
neighbour, in 1526-28. Other independent or- 
ganisations had followed in various quarters of 
Germany, so that Count William was justified by 
precedent in thus becoming the paternal director 
of theological matters in his domain. "As the 
prince, so shall the land be," was an attractive 
doctrine long before the phrase was formulated at 
the Peace of Passau. 

The story of how a nunnery at Keppel slipped 
easily into a Protestant sisterhood is typical of 
the Reformation as it passed in Nassau. There 
was no question of scattering the inmates, none 
of confiscation and desolation of the community 
property. The cloister, which had existed from 
the thirteenth century on, offering dignified refuge 
to the noble Nassau daughters who sought a 
vocation in the Church, never fell into ruin, — a 
change in creed and regulations permitted the 
latter-day maidens to come to its shelter and to 
devote themselves to good works, yet unhindered 
by perpetual vows from returning to the world 



15331 The Nassau Family. 25 

again if cloister life palled upon them or a suitable 
marriage presented itself. 

Count William's assumption of jurisdiction 
over the consciences of Nassau was not unques- 
tioned by the Church of Rome. The attempts 
of the Archbishop of Mayence to reassert his sway 
within his allotted diocese, were aided and abetted 
by the Landgrave Philip, that most protesting 
Protestant of them all, but so good a hater withal 
that he was satisfied to forget his scruples if, by 
so doing, he could annoy his dearest foe, with whom 
he was outwardly at peace. But Hesse and 
Nassau were constitutionally at odds, and a new 
cause of irritation also arose between them from 
the fact that the reform was not prosecuted in the 
same spirit, the old Landgrave being, at the outset, 
inclined to extreme measures, while Count William 
was very moderate. The differences between the 
two wings of the reformers were beginning to 
be as bitter as between Protestants and Cath- 
olics. When the Protestant League of Schmalkald 
was formed among the German princes, the Count 
refused to join for some time. In 1535 he was at 
last ready to change his mind and offered to en- 
dorse all action hitherto taken. But although 
accepted as a member he never became fully 
identified with its proceedings. Owing to the 
unfriendly insinuations of the Landgrave he was 
not invariably notified of the meetings and felt 
that he was treated with indignity. When the 
disaffection in the empire swelled to organised re- 



26 William the Silent [1200- 

bellion on the part of the leaguers against Charles 
V., Count William succeeded in retaining his 
foothold on neutral ground and in warding off 
engagements on Nassau territory. 

Within Count William's household there was a 
pleasant and wholesome atmosphere, fair bal- 
ance to the worldliness and bickerings, theological 
and political, without. In his nineteenth year 
Count William was married to Walpurga of Eg- 
mont (1506), who died in 1529, leaving one 
daughter. Various brides were immediately pro- 
posed to the widower, according to the mode of 
the day, when the funeral baked meats often might 
have served for the marriage feasts. Count 
Henry was interested and entreated his brother 
not to ally himself with the Protestant Houses of 
Saxony and Wurtemburg as that might alienate 
the Emperor. In regard to a princess of Lorraine, 
suggested as a suitable partie, Count Henry warns 
William that the maiden is deformed, and that 
a rich dowry would ill compensate for weakly 
offspring. 

Then, as it chanced, business matters brought 
William into the society of the young widow of a 
former ward of his own, Philip of Hanau, to whose 
children he was called upon to act as guardian 
on Philip's death in 1529. Juliana of Stolberg, 
Countess of Hanau, was then only twenty-five, 
though mother of five children. It was not 
unnatural that an alliance should result between 
widow and guardian. Negotiations would have 



15331 The Nassau Family 27 

needed no intermediary, and were, probably, 
short. A betrothal took place at Konigstein, 
the residence of Juliana's kinsmen, on September 
21, 1 53 1 ; the wedding followed speedily and Count 
William took his wards and their mother home 
to the pleasant Dillenburg castle, renovated and 
improved to fit it for the life of the large family 
it was to shelter. 

Neighbours of similar rank were far away, so 
that the inmates of the castle were thrown upon 
their own resources for entertainment. The 
habitation was fairly luxurious for the times, for 
there were marble statues in the court and foreign 
shrubs in the garden. The decorations within 
the house included tapestry whereon was depicted 
the battle of Pavia, then a very recent event. 

Shortly after Juliana's installation, a library 
was fitted up "for the teaching and improvement 
of the Christian life as well as for the general good 
and for the amateurs of all good art," as Count 
William states. Latin and German books stood 
side by side on the shelves. The Count had 
endeavoured to exercise the greatest discretion 
in their selection and to banish those volumes, 
" learned though they might be, in which evil 
was mingled with the good." 

Juliana was a woman of exceptional character, 
taking the responsibilities of wife, mother, and 
chatelaine as a serious profession to which she 
devoted herself. In her two marriages she bore 
seventeen children, nearly all of whom grew to 



28 William the Silent 



[1200- 



maturity, in itself a remarkable event in those 
days of infant mortality, — a fact showing that 
the offspring had sound inheritance and good care. 
As a rule, the baptisms recorded in any family 
annals are out of proportion to the children sur- 
viving their parents. 

It was well that Dillenburg was a capacious 
domicile as it often was called upon to give hos- 
pitality to large parties of guests. Once a certain 
Duke of Brunswick was entertained there with 
one hundred and fifty retainers in his suite, and 
there were many other visitors with large trains, 
from time to time, pausing on their way to various 
diets or to Italy. 

Those were transient guests, but the castle was 
not left to solitude between the chance visits of 
passing strangers. The school established by 
Juliana for the benefit of her own charges won 
so much reputation that pupils flocked in from 
neighbouring castles. The training to be had 
at Dillenburg, social and intellectual, was highly 
prized, and the influence of Juliana of Stolberg 
was felt in a wide circle. 

Every bit of testimony, direct and indirect, 
about this mother of William the Silent indicates 
a charming personality and a sturdiness of char- 
acter that impressed itself upon her children and 
grandchildren. These numbered one hundred and 
sixty before her death, and they have carried good 
blood into every reigning family in Europe. 
Juliana's husband and eldest son were often 



1533] 



The Nassau Family 



29 



biassed in their religious views by political reasons. 
Not so Juliana; she based her actions upon the 
religious principles that were part of her life, and 
she saw her sons go out to war with the firm con- 
viction that they were fighting God's battles. 




REGENT S MEDAL 




LEIDEN MEDAL 



CHAPTER II 

THE PRINCE'S YOUTH 
I533-I55I 

THE first child of Juliana and William of 
Nassau came into the world at the castle 
of Dillenburg on Thursday, April 24, 1533. It was 
a boy baby, "whose name shall be called William," 
are the words written in the handwriting of 
Count William himself. z 

This was the year in which the father refused 
the tempting collar of the Order of the Golden 
Fleece, the year when his sympathies took a definite 
turn toward the Protestant party. Nevertheless 
the christening of this eldest son on Sunday, May 
4th, was celebrated not with the new rites for 
infant baptism instituted by Martin Luther, but 
in general conformity with orthodox usages, ex- 
cept for certain slight differences and variations 
symbolic of the doubts affecting the parental 
mind. Philip von Konigstein, Philip von Rheineck, 
and Amelia, the widowed Countess of Isenburg, 
were god-parents. Juliana's mother and brother 
were at Dillenburg to meet various members 

1 MS. Orange- Nassau. family archives, The Hague. 
30 



[1533-15511 The Princes Youth 3 1 

of the Nassau clan and apparently they all heard 
mass sung at eight o'clock. When that was over 
the Kindlein was brought into the chapel, and a 
sermon was preached with special reference to the 
occasion. 

By the time the younger William was old enough 
to learn, methods of religious instruction, closely 
interwoven with general education, were formu- 
lated in the Nassau Church handbook already 
described. As Count William was sufficiently 
versed in letters to select his own library and to 
instruct his spiritual shepherds exactly how the 
ignorant flock should be pastured, he probably 
had his own theories of education when he found 
time to exploit them. But leisure was not an 
abundant commodity with him. There were many 
demands upon his time and his exchequer, and 
he was not wealthy enough to meet them easily 
in spite of the adjective attached to his name. In 
offspring he was rich indeed. John, Louis, 
Maria, Adolph, Anna, Elizabeth, Catherine, Juli- 
ana, Madeleine 2nd, and Henry followed their 
brother into the world. With such a small army 
of claimants for the good things of this life, the 
news of Rene's bequest, which turned young 
William of Nassau into the Prince of Orange, 
independent of the paternal purse, gave cause 
for rejoicing. But there were certain details 
about the succession that probably mitigated 
the father's satisfaction in the boy's fortune. He 
was himself ignored when he had every reason 



32 William the Silent [1533- 

to expect to be heir, at least to the Nassau-Breda 
estates in accordance with the ancient family- 
pact. Furthermore his own son and heir, only- 
eleven years old in the year of his Orange in- 
heritance, was to be removed from parental care 
and brought up as though he were an orphan, as 
ward of the empire. And this meant that the 
minor was to be held strictly to the creed of the 
ancient Church which Count William had aban- 
doned for himself and for his own people. It was 
a difficult problem to be faced by a father who 
desired preferment and wealth for his children 
and who yet had standards of conduct and reason 
to fear the Greeks bearing gifts. 

Count William's first step was to hasten to 
Brussels to put in a plea in behalf of his own 
rights. The tempting revenue would naturally 
be far more available within his own hand. But 
he soon became convinced that there was not the 
slightest chance of breaking Rene's will and he 
changed his tactics with that readiness to accept 
the next best thing which was in later years a 
marked characteristic of his famous son. It was 
no easy matter but there were certain favourable 
circumstances in the situation. At the epoch 
in question, Marie, widowed Queen of Hungary, 
sister to Charles V., was Regent of the Netherlands. 
She was one of the most intelligent members of 
the Habsburg family and an able executive in 
her brother's behalf, so far as she was allowed to 
work her own will in the administration. It is 



1551] The Princes Youth 33 

she whom Erasmus addressed as the "Christian 
Widow." The Emperor was a flitting presence, 
an inconstant element in the court where the minor 
Prince of Orange was to be a ward. Possibly it 
was confidence in Queen Marie, whose sane and 
intelligent attitude towards reform was fairly 
congenial to Count William, that reconciled the 
latter to fulfilling the terms of Rene's will and to 
paying the stipulated price for his son's princi- 
pality. Certainly, whatever his reasons, he con- 
sented to entrust the child's up-bringing to alien 
hands. 

When the Prince published (1580) his famous 
Apology '* for his own revolt against Philip II., he 
declared (or approved the statement) that the fact 
that he was permitted to enter on his inheritance 
unchallenged called for no special gratitude on 
his part toward Charles V. He says that there 
was no one with the shadow of a right to contest 
Prince Rene's will except his own father, "who 
took the pains to come to ask that I should be 
placed in possession, and there were none impudent 
enough to oppose except President Schoore, who 
said in council that a heretic's son ought not to 
succeed (filius hceretici non debet succedere)" In 
further explanation of his legal rights the Prince 
continues : 

Moreover what can be answered when I point out 
that my cousin's will was a military testament, . . . 

1 Dumont, Corps universel diplomatique, v., p. 386. 

3 



34 William the Silent 



[1533- 



and although I am no great doctor in law I can 
remember perfectly well hearing various learned 
personages, discussing this subject in my father's 
presence, affirm that not only military testaments 
but simple memoranda made on the eve of battle are 
of perfect validity. According to imperial laws if 
any warrior before his death had made the slightest 
manifestation of his intentions, the very faintest sign 
that could be imagined, such as tracing with his blood 
on his shield the name of the person he wished to ap- 
point, or as merely scratching on the ground with a 
halberd or sword point, — then this indication of his 
last will is inviolable and is preferred to every other 
direction, according to the ancient privileges of those 
of high military rank. Assuredly the courtesy usual 
to others would have been unhesitatingly accorded 
to a valiant prince and gentle cavalier. 

The validity was, however, not assumed without 
some considerable pressure, in which the Regent 
Queen Marie joined her entreaties to those of 
Count William. The Emperor was persuaded to 
fulfil the solemn promises he had made to Prince 
Rene, but he remained inexorable in regard to the 
exclusion of the father from the slightest juris- 
diction over his son's person or his property. The 
former's pitiful protests against having his child 
separated from his oversight obtained no further 
concession than permission to submit a list of 
names whence the Emperor should select the 
guardians, and the right of drawing up an In- 
struction for the guidance of these gentlemen when 
appointed — a document which the deposed father 



1551] The Princes Youth 35 

could hardly expect to be very potent. The com- 
mission of guardianship thus formed consisted 
of the imperial chamberlain, Johann van Merode, 
Claude Bouton, Seignior of Cabazan, and Count 
Adolph of Holstein-Schaumburg, the coadjutor 
of Cologne, a kinsman of the Nassaus — all three 
being faithful to the Catholic Church. The first 
two named bore the burden of the task as it was 
fulfilled. 

In the spring of 1545, the ward of the empire 
was established in his own house at Breda, sharing 
his lessons with the young counts of Westerburg 
and Isenburg — the latter his godmother's son. 
The tutor of the three boys received the munificent 
salary of 100 guilders. The education given was 
certainly far better than that furnished to many 
princes of royal blood, — especially in languages. 
Orange spoke German, French, Flemish, Spanish, 
and some Latin and could write all five, though 
with varying ease. His spelling is not standard- 
ised, Ws crop up unexpectedly in his French 
(habbandon for abandon, etc.), and his style is 
never graceful, though often forceful. 

When he was fifteen he met his father at the 
Diet of Augsburg, where family affairs were con- 
sidered in the midst of the settlement of the politi- 
cal confusion arising after the battle of Miihlberg. 
The Prince was judged old enough to bear a part 
in the discussions and the Count was eager in 
urging that his son's voice should be heard, — for 
he was weary of being held at a distance from the 



36 William the Silent [1533- 

boy's affairs. The minority had been much 
more trying to the father than to the ward, who 
passed his time pleasantly enough between 
Breda and the court, well looked after by the 
Regent, petted by the Emperor himself, and 
learning, incidentally to his formal education, 
many of the ways of "practical" statecraft; for it 
seems that he was often permitted to remain 
in the council chamber during meetings of the 
imperial cabinet. And he was quite intelligent 
enough to recall in later years what he had then 
heard without comprehending. Certainly the 
family discussions at Augsburg were not in the 
least too abstruse for the fifteen-year-old boy to 
follow. The burden of them was the need of 
money and the annoyances attendant on the 
interminable litigation. 

1 Count William cherished high expectations of 
the advantages to accrue to the Nassau interests 
from his son's close relations with the Emperor, 
but disappointment after disappointment had 
continued to curb his hopes of a settlement of 
the Catzenellenbogen suit. When Charles V. 
requested him to make out an itemised list of the 
expenses forced upon him by the long process, he 
thought the end was surely at hand, as he did 
again when his friends attempted to push through 
a private adjustment. Martin Bucer was con- 
vinced of the justice of the Nassau claim and took 
it on himself to urge the Landgrave to accept an 
accommodation : 



1551] The Prince s Youth 37 

Because Count William is a right pious gentleman, 
of kin to your princely Grace, a neighbour, and a 
brother in religion and in truth well affected toward 
your Grace, because the nobles who have adopted the 
evangelical confession look to your Grace as the one 
prince who can bring consolation to the whole Ger- 
man nation and to whom all wish well, pray con- 
sider the matter, etc. 1 

The Landgrave would not yield and at the 
Augsburg Diet of 1548 the threadbare topic was 
still demanding consideration. 

When the Prince was seventeen an imperial 
general made a proposal greatly to his advantage. 
Maximilian, Count of Buren, designated Orange 
as the husband whom he desired for his daughter 
Anna of Egmont, sole heiress to the rich paternal 
estate. There was no objection from any one 
to an alliance eminently suitable from all worldly 
motives and from age also, as the two young 
people were born in the same year. When the 
matter was practically settled, it was urged that 
the time was ripe for giving the Prince an inde- 
pendent establishment. The Regent demurred, 
saying that this step could be postponed for a 
time, considering his youth, but finally gave her 
sanction. A governor of rank too was deemed 
desirable and Jerome Perrenot, Seignior of 
Champagny, was selected for the post, in spite 
of the guardians' protests, who declared that a 
more venerable and dignified personage was needed 

1 Lenz, Brief wechsel, Landgrave Philipps mit Bucer, ii., p. 172. 



38 William the Silent [1533- 

to give dignity and weight to the immature 
household. The appointment was significant of 
the influence exerted in the Prince's affairs by the 
elder brother of this Champagny, Anthony Perre- 
not, Bishop of Arras, better known by his later 
title of Cardinal Granvelle. High in credit with 
the Regent Marie, the Bishop succeeded in carrying 
his point and in controlling this responsible and 
lucrative position in a way to keep him in touch 
with the Prince's affairs. This appointment was 
only one of the items upon which there was 
clashing over the minor's interests. 

While the final settlement was pending, Orange 
had the privilege of entertaining that other for- 
tunate prince, the Infante Philip, at his own 
Breda, where for two evenings there were brilliant 
illuminations. This was the time when the 
Emperor's heir was making his first progress 
through the provinces under escort of his aunt, 
and the festivities were part of a long series given 
in honour of the future ruler in Brabant and 
elsewhere. 

During these years of tutelage it is evident 
that, as regards his religious status, the attitude 
of the Prince of Orange was one of simple, un- 
questioning conformity. His baptism was ac- 
cepted as valid and undoubtedly he took his first 
communion at the usual age like a good Catholic. 
No child finds it extraordinary that people think 
and do one thing in one place, another in another. 
Then as the boy grew into young manhood an 



liisllf 







life '^'1: -#%; : P 



1551] The Princes Youth 39 

indifference toward all religion was the outcome 
of his familiarity with the formal observances in 
which he participated, combined with his know- 
ledge that his own people held opinions com- 
pletely at variance with those of the imperial 
household.- And certainly the variations between 
the more moderate wings of the schools of faith 
were not made of tremendous weight just at 
that crisis. The atmosphere of the court was 
still non-militant. The Erasmian period had, it 
is true, passed, and the adherents of the Dutch 
scholar had been practically forced into taking 
sides with the new congregations that were 
forming or with the venerable institution which 
they criticised without utterly condemning. The 
major part of the Erasmians adopted the second 
alternative and it was they who coloured the 
court atmosphere with moderation that tended 
towards indifference. It is also true that, in 
other circles, evangelical and anti-papal opinions 
were steadily gaining ground between 1544 an d 
1555, and that, while strict laws for the repression 
of free thought stood on the imperial and munici- 
pal statute books, as a rule, these laws were not 
enforced. The penalties imposed were so terribly 
severe that the civil authorities refrained from tak- 
ing cognisance of the infractions of which they were 
aware. This was the more possible because, in 
spite of his general formulas, the Emperor was long 
looked upon as a potential leader of an anti-papal 
party. It often happened that he was sufficiently 



40 William the Silent [1533- 

in opposition to the Pope to be lenient towards 
reformers and liberal towards the Germans. John 
Calvin could write to him: "Up to now, Caesar, 
you have not been against us. Even if the sword 
has, so to speak, been put in your hand you have 
still retained your moderation." 

Many years later (1580) the Prince stated in 
reference to this period of wardship in the Em- 
peror's court: "At that time my head was filled 
with thoughts of arms, of hunting and of other 
amusements natural to young men of rank, 
rather than of anxiety about my salvation." 
Though this assertion occurs in the Apology — a 
document teeming with unintentional inaccuracies 
— it may be accepted as fairly true. When acting 
as page and as gentleman -in -waiting, Orange 
followed the Emperor to church as to table and 
fulfilled the etiquette in both cases in simple 
obedience to the authorities whom his own father 
had bidden him accept. 

Towards the close of the year 1550, Charles V. 
gave his sanction to the proposed alliance between 
his ward and Anna of Egmont. The marriage 
settlements were drawn up with due regard to the 
groom's interests and on July 6, 1551, the nuptials 
were celebrated most splendidly and the Prince 
was emancipated from the last vestiges of his 
minority and from the uncomfortable trammels 
of his wardship. No one was more pleased 
with the match than Granvelle, who was proud 
of the valuable aid he had given toward its 



1551j The Princes Youth 41 

consummation. He wrote to the Elector of 
Cologne : 

As I worked zealously for this event it is a satis- 
faction to me that we have gained what we wished 
and to so much advantage for the House of Nassau. 
The labour that we have expended in the complicated 
state of affairs is well repaid, as I believe, in so far as 
we have been successful in our efforts. x 

Thus the Prince of Orange was placed in a 
singularly advantageous position at the threshold 
of his career — surrounded by powerful friends, 
young, accomplished, independent, yet with a 
living father, a man whom the son liked and 
respected and with whom he was thrown into a 
peculiar kind of comradeship because both felt 
equally harassed by the interference of the younger 
man's guardians. There was something unique 
in that relationship. The friendship between 
father and son was really augmented by the barrier 
erected between them. Instead of the junior 
feeling hampered by the jurisdiction of the senior, 
the two actually made common cause against a 
common foe, who had endeavoured to keep them 
apart. 

Maximilian of Egmont, Count of Buren, who 
selected the Prince of Orange for a son-in-law, 
was a very different type of man from the op- 
portunist and diplomatic Nassaus. He was a 
rough and ready soldier, seriously criticised by his 
fellow knights of the Golden Fleece for his tendency 

1 Quoted Rachfahl, i., p. 165. 



42 William the Silent [1533- 

to good round oaths. When the Prince was 
negotiating his second marriage he refers to his 
first father-in-law as having been inclined to the re- 
formed faith and nevertheless high in the Emperor's 
favour. This must be set down as one of the 
statements facilely used by Orange to point an 
argument, when it was very far from being the 
whole truth. Maximilian's utter indifference to 
Catholicism was noted. His fellows of the Order 
reproved him for neglecting mass and fasts. 
But he was equally indifferent to the new teaching 
and in the political split he commanded the 
imperial troops against the Protestant leaguers of 
Schmalkald in the war when Count William of 
Nassau managed to maintain a convenient neu- 
trality. Maximilian might have had a dukedom 
as a reward for his services in this war, but the 
omission of revenues as part of the gift made him 
prefer to remain a rich count rather than to become 
a poor duke. 

The story is told that Maximilian was afflicted 
with a throat disease which Vesalius himself 
pronounced fatal. Knowing his serious condition, 
he arranged a great feast to which Charles V. 
was invited and came. The host seized the 
opportunity to ask the Emperor's consent to the 
marriage of his heiress with the young Prince 
of Orange. When that was accorded, Maximilian 
felt at peace with the world and shortly afterwards, 
dressed in full armour, he breathed his last. He 
was far more like the Emperor from whom he 



1551] 



The Princes Youth 



43 



received his name than he was like Charles V., 
his own sovereign. There was no glint of the 
modern in the Count of Buren. He would have 
had little in common with the clever, facile 
son-in-law whom he had selected for the sweet- 
faced maiden Anna. She seems to have shown 
excellent executive ability as head of the house 
at Breda, and as manager of her husband's 
finances, even though she had no voice in choosing 
her career. 




1573 

SIEGE OF HAARLEM 



CHAPTER III 

MILITARY TRAINING 
I55I-I558 

A CERTAIN Frenchman has woven a vivid 
little picture of the Prince of Orange at 
eighteen into his memoirs, written down a long 
time after the events described. Memory must 
have played the writer false as to circumstances, 
but the inserted portrait is so lifelike that it is 
difficult to pass it by without a glance. This 
Francois de Scepeaux, Marquis de Vieilleville, * 
claims to have been present when an embassy 
from the anti-imperial German coalition of 1551 
was received at the French court, and when 
Henry II. lent complaisant ears to the represen- 
tations that his friend Charles V. had reduced the 
worthy nobles of the empire to an humiliating 
condition of ignoble servitude. The Marquis 
states that among the visitors was William of 
Nassau, accompanied, moreover, by the Emperor's 
ward, the younger William, Prince of Orange, 
whom Vieilleville recognises as a cousin from the 
connection between his house and that of Orange- 

1 Memoires, p. 353, etc. (Petitot's Col., vol. xxvi.). 
44 



[1551-1558] Military Training 45 

Chalons. He takes a great fancy to the youth 
who is handsome, intelligent, and charming, and 
he urges him to become a "good Frenchman" 
because his titular estates lie within the realm. 

That is true [said the Prince], but it is not the 
larger portion nor the sixth part of my property in the 
Netherlands. Nevertheless there is one point that 
seems to urge me to consent to a French allegiance — 
which is that the Prince of Spain, without any ap- 
parent cause, cannot endure me and it is impossible 
for me to please him. I am unable to discover the 
reason for his animosity, being unconscious of having 
offended him. 

Orange further acknowledges that he has heard 
dire prophesies of misfortunes in store for him 
at Philip's hand but he remains steadfast in his 
resolve to stay by the Emperor. 

The Marquis ceases to urge a transference of 
allegiance, and proceeds to entertain the youth 
and his father to the best of his ability. The 
conferences between the disaffected German nobles 
and the French King ended with a banquet and a 

ball at which the Queen and court ladies appeared 
so gorgeously apparelled that the Germans were 
filled with astonishment. The King led the first 
dance and then German dances followed, because 
better understood by the guests, with an occasional 
galliard to display to better advantage the disposition 
and grace of our French youth. 

In the figures that followed none of the strangers 



46 William the Silent [1551- 

participated except the Prince of Orange, who ac- 
quitted himself very dexterously and would have won 
the prize for the galliard, if with his postures, capers, 
turns and evolutions, his countless flourishes, gam- 
bols, agile bounds and springs, he had only kept time 
to the music I 

An embassy certainly made its way from Ger- 
many to France at this time; and Maurice of 
Saxony, the Prince's future father-in-law, rather 
the father of the future Princess of Orange, was 
among the German nobles to despatch it and 
later to cause Charles V. bitter mortification and 
chagrin. But quite as certainly the prudent 
William of Nassau held aloof from the cabal and 
still more certainly his son had no opportunity to 
dance for a prize at Fontainebleau in that month 
of October, 1551. 

On July 7th of that year, his marriage with 
Anna was celebrated with much splendour, and in 
September the Prince received his first commis- 
sion as captain of two hundred horse. The 
Queen of Hungary was his immediate chief, and 
under her direction he had his first military 
experience of frontier warfare in the campaigns 
forced upon Charles V. by the league between 
the recalcitrant German nobles and the French 
King. In the spring of 1552, the Regent gathered 
all the forces she could muster and prepared to 
repulse an expected French invasion. From her 
camps the Prince writes frequently to his young 
wife at Breda. A few letters may serve to give 




M 



/V 



% 



-*\V~4 !?~% V ~' -^'j^—V^, 



ANNA OF EGMONT 
PRINCESS OF ORANGE 



1558] Military Training 47 

glimpses of these years. The following, written 
in a large immature writing, is delightfully boyish x : 

My wife: This is both to ask your counsel as to 
whether you think it would help matters if I were 
to write to Mme. our mother; considering that I 
promised Mme. our grandmother to send her oc- 
casional news of myself. I would not wish the 
said mother to be dissatisfied, and to tell you that 

Mons. de was very pig-headed [in a dispute] 

with Mons. Vandermer and myself and lost his 
knife on a wager. [Some garrison gossip follows.] 

Mons. de Champagny told me to write you the 
whole story but as I am very sleepy I will not make 
it longer. So begging your advice about whether 
your mother would be pleased by a letter from me — 
for until I have heard from you again I shall be 
worried for the reason that you told me, I am, etc. 
[conventional phrases]. 

From Thore, June 7th. Pray give my compli- 
ments to all the company. 

Your very good husband, 

Guile, de Nassau. 2 

The next is a more coherent document. 

My wife: This is to inform you that yesterday I 
received letters from the Queen, the kindest, I think, 
she has ever written to any one of any rank whatso- 
ever, for she expressed her approval of my capacity, 
desires me always to display the same zeal, and as- 
sures me of her entire confidence in me. I pray the 
Creator to give me grace to deserve this good repu- 

1 MS. Orange- Nassau family archives, The Hague. 
l a His usual signature. It is translated elsewhere for uniformity. 



48 William the Silent [1551- 

tation. I leave to-morrow for camp and shall sleep 
at a place near Tongres, where I must wait for five 
of my companies, hoping that our Lord will permit 
me to return in good health, so that we shall have 
better opportunity of enjoying each other's society. 
My wife, I beg you to make my excuses to Mmes. our 
grandmother and our mother for not having written 
to them. I will wait until later, for knowing no 
news now, I am afraid of boring them with my letters, 
but I will write as soon as I have anything to tell. 
In the meantime I beg you to present my humblest 
respects to all our friends at Breda and pray you to 
give them such good cheer that they will bear you 
company longer and keep you from the loneliness you 
would otherwise feel. Praying the Creator to give 
you all your desires, etc. 

Your very good husband, 

William of Nassau. 
To Mme. the Princess of Orange. 
From Thore, June ioth. 1 

The young officer found camping no summer 
pastime, and grumbled freely and boyishly over 
the various discomforts. The following note 
was written on July 6th, when there seemed 
immediate danger of the French penetrating into 
Brabant : 

My wife: This is to inform you that I am in 
camp with seven companies, where we are very com- 
fortable except that it is rather cold to sleep in tents. 
... I think we will make an advance to-morrow, to 

1 MS. Orange- Nassau family archives, The Hague. Printed 
in Groen, Archives, i., p. I. 



1558] Military Training 49 

prevent the enemy from entering Brabant. I can well 
believe that you are afraid, like the rest of the world, 
and that the fugitives from Brussels and elsewhere 
have infected you with their terror, but I hope there 
is no danger. My wife, I wish I could be with you on 
the 7th for our wedding anniversary. 1 

Affairs went from bad to worse. The question 
of supplies was a constant anxiety, disease w 7 as 
rampant in the ill- organised camps among the 
ill-fed soldiers, w T hile the poor natives of the soil 
suffered equally on the advance of either party, 
as neither Marie nor Henry had the slightest 
scruple in taking all they could get, or in burning 
any unoffending town that might offer a foothold 
to their opponent. The notes from Orange to 
the Princess continue: 

My wife: I received to-day two of your letters, 
and assure you that nothing more agreeable could 
happen to me than to have tidings from you and to be 
advised of your health, but I must tell you what news 
the Queen has received to-day, which is that the 
galleys have arrived with a goodly number of Spanish 
soldiers, about nine thousand, and a supply of money, 
about two millions of gold. I hope now that the 
courage of the Germans and French will be dashed 
. . . and that the agreement which is said to have 
been made between the Emperor and Duke Maurice 
will be broken, which will be much more profitable 
for our cause of Catzenellenbogen, for I hope that the 
Emperor will remember the rest of us in case that he 

1 MS. Orange-Nassau family archives, The Hague. Printed 
in Groen, Archives, i., p. 6. 



50 William the Silent [1551- 

prospers, as I trust he will by God's favour, also 
according to the good omens that I see, for he has al- 
ready assembled sixty-five companies of German foot- 
soldiers, who have followed the others to Ulm, and 
forty more are expected, besides the Spaniards who 
arrived in the galleys. Therefore, I pray, have good 
courage and hope that we will succeed in our enter- 
prise, and that we will make them stop their cackle. 
Your very good husband, 

William of Nassau, h 

From Mons, July nth. 1 

We arrived here yesterday with all our cavalry 
and my regiment, to plan an ambush for the King 
of France, who is not far off, somewhere in the neigh- 
bourhood of Trelon and Chimay. We were in the 
saddle all this morning, hoping to capture some of 
the stragglers from his army, until we learned that 
he had retreated after demolishing the said Trelon 
and Chimay. There is a rumour that he is already 
over his own border. I do not know whether he 
means to give his men a little rest, which we hear 
that both foot and horse sadly need, as they are 
exhausted by the bad weather which they have en- 
countered, and by the bad roads which they have 
had the greatest difficulty in passing, and in bring- 
ing their horses over. If he really retreats I will let 
you know. . . . 

We shall depart to-morrow to rejoin the main army, 
and I have already sent my regiment on to le Quesnoy, 
whence they could return if it were necessary. I 
will not make this longer, as it is almost midnight; 

1 MS. Orange-Nassau family archives, The Hague. Printed 
in Groen, Archives, i., p. 8. 



1558] Military Training 51 

we have hardly slept for three days, and must be 
astir at daybreak. 

Camp at Dorle, July 15th, 12 p.m. 1 

My wife: This is to advise you of our arrival 
at Arras yesterday. I delayed writing to you in the 
hope of having some definite information in regard 
to our plans. One day we think we are to make an- 
other journey, and the next it seems probable that 
we are to be quartered in some good city to refresh 
our men and ourselves, which I should consider the 
better. Brederode and I here, Hoogstraaten and the 
Marshal de Geldres at Douay, and the Duke of 
Aerschot at Cambray, are all waiting for the Queen 
to decide whether to disband us or retain us in service 
and put us in garrison, fearing lest the French king 
may attack Hesdin, if he knew our force were with- 
drawn. I am pretty sure we shall be disbanded, 
because I think funds are getting low, and another 
thing that inclines me to that opinion is that a review 
is ordered for day after to-morrow. I will not fail to 
advise you as soon as we hear from the Queen, who 
cannot delay much longer. If we are disbanded, I 
will take you, please God, the news myself, and I 
wish that could be to-day rather than to-morrow, 
for I cannot express in writing my longing to see 
you. I feel as if I were a year in arrears with you. 
(Nov. 13, Arras.) 2 

This fervent hope was fulfilled, and the Prince's 
troops were disbanded at Valenciennes, November 
17th. 

x MS. Orange-Nassau family archives, The Hague. Printed 
in Groen, Archives, i., p. 10. 2 Ibid., p. 12. 



52 William the Silent [1551- 

Meanwhile the Emperor advanced toward Metz, 
laid siege to the town for fifty-six days, and then 
abandoned it with the remark that Fortune was 
a woman who plainly preferred a young king to 
an old emperor. He spent the winter at Brussels 
in such close retirement that his death was 
rumoured. In the following spring the campaign 
was renewed with Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy 
in command of the imperial army, and under him 
Orange had his second year of active service. 
In 1554, just before he attained his twenty -first 
year, the Prince was promoted again. He says in 
his Apology*: 

When I had not yet attained the age of twenty-one, 
when I was away from court at Buren, the Emperor 
chose me as general-in-chief during an absence of the 
Duke of Savoy, although the lords in council and the 
Queen suggested several other officers whose reputa- 
tion was assured, as Counts Bossu and Lalaing, and 
Martin van Rossem, all veterans, and Aremberg, de 
Meghen, and Egmont who was twelve years my senior. 

The pecuniary prospects were nob, however, at 
all satisfactory. 

My wife: As I am just on the point of depar- 
ture, I must tell you of the arrangement the Emperor 
has made in consideration of my being captain-general. 
His Majesty has given me, as he gave the Prince of 
Orange, the Duke of Aerschot, and M. de Bossu, 
500 florins a month and twelve halberdiers, each at 

1 Apology, Edition Lacroix, p. 76. 



1558] Military Training 53 

double pay, which will be my only income. I wish 
you would find out from my lawyer, or from the ac- 
counts, whether the late Prince of Orange did not 
have more, and let me know. As to your question 
as to how much I shall need to spend a month, I 
think it will amount to 2500 florins, and will be 
obliged if you will take the trouble to get what 
money I need. Hoping that some time I will be 
able to deserve all the friendship you show me. 1 

A few days later Orange wrote again: 

As to my generalship they have not yet decided 
about the salary, and there was even some attempt 
to persuade me to waive a salary altogether, but I 
spoke to the Emperor yesterday who said he w T ould 
see to it. I beg you to see that we have some ready 
money on hand, for out of the 3000 florins I re- 
ceived from Madame Culemberg I shall only have 
a thousand to take with me to camp, as the other two 
must be disbursed in this city for the debts incurred 
here and for the 1500 florins that I owe my clerk. 

Brussels, July 31st. 2 

A note dated simply Aug. 2d seems to belong 
here : 

I am relieved at what you say of }^our illness. It 
seems to me it would be better not to take any more 
medicine for it may make you thin and weak. As 
to the matter of the gallery I think it a good idea and 
advise you to have it made. The 4000 florins were 
received to-day. They were very "a, propos. " 3 

1 Groen, Archives, i., 16. 2 Ibid. 

3 MS. Orange-Nassau family archives, The Hague. 



54 William the Silent [1551- 

Charles V. had resolved to shift his burden to 
younger shoulders. During the summer of 1555 
he was deeply absorbed in the arrangements for 
the proposed abdication. Orange was appointed 
to take part in the pompous formalities of the 
theatrical transference of sovereignty from father 
to son and he directs his wife to find out whether 
the Duchess of Aerschot 1 or "Madame Egmont" 
would not. take her in for the short sojourn she 
would make at Brussels. As for him- he would 
arrive by post on the very day of the ceremony 
and could not tell how long he would be free to 
remain in the capital. Anna evidently follows her 
husband's counsel and forwards her correspondence 
to him. On Oct. 4th he writes: 

My wife: This morning I received through Varich 
your letter enclosing the Duchess's answer. I am 
much pleased at the latter which I consider a very 
suitable and courteous reply to your request. It 
only remains for me to get leave to see you, but you 
will already have heard that the Queen counter- 
manded my movements, though only temporarily. 
So I think you had better write a polite letter to the 
Duchess of Aerschot and accept her invitation, 
awaiting further news from me. 

On the 15th he writes again. 

October 15, 1555. 

I leave you to imagine the fine life I am leading in 

1 Anna of Lorraine, widow of Rene* of Nassau, married Philip of 
Aerschot and was a widow for the second time in 1555. She 
was aunt to Mary Stuart. 



1558] Military Training 55 

this beautiful weather. I assure you my sole amuse- 
ment is to go through the rain and mud from morn 
till night on our works. You may think whether, 
if it lay with me, I should make a long stay here. 
Further, in regard to the question as to what you 
ought to do now that all the principal ladies are going 
to court to take leave of the queens, it seems to me 
that as soon as you have certain information of the 
date when the said queens are going to depart, that 
then it would be well to take a trip to Brussels to 
take leave. But as you are still uncertain of the 
date of their departure and also as your train is 
rather small for your first visit to Brussels since the 
king's arrival there and that [the lack of state] might 
not be taken in good part, it would be as well to wait 
a little until you are more accurately informed of the 
queens' movements and then go to pay your respects. 

Then came the abdication. It was a splendid 
spectacle and Orange had an honourable role 
in the pageant as he it was who supported the 
old Emperor when he took farewell of the world 
and delivered over his Netherland dominions to 
the tender mercies of Philip II. The little capital 
was gay with all the people assembled to see this 
ceremony, but Orange did not stay to take part in 
the festivities. On October 26th, the very mor- 
row of the dramatic scene, he was back at his 
trenching. 

The old problems — lack of funds, dearth of 
provisions, and consequent discontent among the 
troops — confronted the new sovereign as he 



56 William the Silent [1551- 

mounted the throne. Philip's first letter to the 
Prince, written only four days after his accession, 
was encouraging, inasmuch as he promised to send 
twelve thousand crowns to the camp in a very 
short time. 1 The fulfilment of the promise was 
delayed; and the letters that passed between 
Prince and King during the autumn months 
were filled with complaints from the former and 
comforting assurances from the latter. The 
work on the forts progressed, however, in spite 
of all difficulties, and on December 29th, Orange 
christened one of them Philippeville, in honour 
of the young monarch. 2 

In November, Philip informed Orange that 
he had chosen him as councillor of state, 3 an 
honour that the Prince acknowledged very dryly. 4 

On the same date Orange writes pathetically 
to his wife that the condition of the camp would 
move any one to pity 5 : "For we are here without 
a penny, and the soldiers are dying of hunger and 
cold, yet they take no more notice of us at court 
than if we were already dead. I leave you to 
picture the amount of patience I am forced to 
have." 

He adds, further, that it is impossible for him 
to know when he can return. The money, ex- 
pected daily, might not arrive for a fortnight, 
and until that came the troops could not be dis- 



1 Gachard, Cor., i., p. 165. 


2 Ibid., p. 281. 


3 Ibid., p. 217. 


4 Ibid., p. 227. 


s Groen, Archives, i., p. 23. 





1558] Military Training 57 

banded according to orders. The uncertainty 
makes writing difficult so that the Princess is 
worried at his silence: 

My wife: I had already begged you in two letters 
to manage my affairs as though they were your 
own just as I had assured you that all mine is yours 
and therefore I had left all to you. Besides I am so 
worried that I can not attend properly to my own 
business. 

For the rest, my wife, as to your last letter when 
you say you are in great trouble because I had not 
written for so long, and that you fear lest possibly I 
am angry with you, I should think that the friend- 
ship between us two was so sound that such suspicion 
would be dissipated and, too, that you would have 
given me credit for more sense than to be angry with- 
out reason. I delayed writing so long in order to be 
able to state absolutely what the king meant to do 
with this camp, and I assure you that I have no other 
desire than to be loved as I love you, for after God I 
think you are the dearest, and if I were not so sure 
of your love I would not be so much at my ease as I 
am, as the Creator knows. To Him I pray to give us 
grace to live out our life in friendship without dissimu- 
lation. Recommending myself from the bottom of my 
heart to your good graces, from camp near Escherenne. 
Dec. 5th. 1 

Your very good husband, 

William of Nassau. 

To Madame the Princess of Orange. 
1 Groen, i., p. 21. 



58 William the Silent [1551- 

My wife: Two days ago I disbanded George von 
Holl's regiment, who departed satisfied. Now I am 
waiting for money for the regiment of Fernando 
Lannoy. 

If George von Holl stops at Breda, I think he will 
give you a little hackney, and you would do well to 
send a present to his wife, for you know we must 
make friends with people. 1 

From Camp near Escherenne, Dec. 20th. 

At the beginning of the new year the grumblings 
among the soldiers in the Philippeville camp grew 
louder and swelled into a murmur which insisted 
on making itself heard at Brussels. Orange had 
written time and time again to Philip narrating 
in detail the difficulties that beset his path, 
but not until a certain Hans Bernard, captain 
of an independent company, sent an insistent 
message, did Philip lend an ear. Then he coolly 
gave permission to the soldiers to live off the land. 
"A course of action that will injure your Maj- 
esty, and be the utter ruin of this poor country, " 2 
in vain remonstrated the unhappy lieutenant. 

In February, a five-years' truce was signed at 
Vaucelles, garrisons were left at Philippeville 
and elsewhere, the remainder of the troops were 
paid off and disbanded, and Orange was released 
from his onerous duties. It can well be believed 
that these dreary months had not served to 
endear Philip to the Prince, who could not find his 

1 Groen, i., p. 22. 

2 (Enliere ruyne du povre plat pays.) 



1558] Military Training 59 

sovereign's plausible letters efficient substitutes 
for the necessary sinews of war. 

But the truce lasted barely five months, and 
in January, 1557, Henry reopened hostilities and 
Philip found himself obliged to assume a defensive, 
which turned finally to the offensive. Egmont's 
success in taking the important town of St. 
Quentin suddenly placed the King in an unex- 
pectedly good position toward France though he 
did not "march on to Paris" as his father might 
have done. On hearing the news the retired 
Emperor asked instantly, "Is Philip in Paris?" — 
only to be disappointed in the answer that his 
son was still far from the French capital. 

Orange took part in the campaigns of this 
summer and wrote as follows to his wife, Sep- 
tember nth 1 : 

My wife: This morning after a thousand can- 
non volleys, the castle of Han surrendered to the 
mercy of his Majesty, there being in the said chateau 
about 1000 or 1100 men. I think we shall hang some 
of them for having made his Majesty wait so long. 
I assure you this is the prettiest site for a chateau 
that could be desired, and there was, adjoining the 
said house, one of the most beautiful towns to be 
seen, but the French burned it on our arrival. I 
think we shall fortify both the town and chateau. 
I do not know what we shall do next; knowing, I 
will advise you immediately. 

1 Groen, Archives, i., p. 28. 



60 William the Silent [1551- 

The three companies of black hussars, who escorted 
us foragers, summoned the town of Chauny to sur- 
render, and it promptly yielded. The French are 
finely embarrassed. 
c From Camp near Han, Sept. nth. 

During the winter of '57-58, the Prince was 
frequently absent from home trying to find money 
for his impecunious master. It was hard work, 
but he finally succeeded in raising a loan from 
English merchants at Antwerp on very unfavour- 
able terms as royal credit was low in spite of 
royal prerogative in two hemispheres. 

In February, 1558, a Diet was held at Frankfort 
to which Orange went to fulfil his long-delayed 
commission (appointed in 1555) of transferring 
the crown of the empire to Ferdinand. x While in 
Frankfort the Prince became very anxious about 
the Princess's health and he hastened back to 
Breda where he arrived only in time to see her die. 

He wrote to his father as follows on March 
27th and April 14th: 

Dear sir father: My saddened heart must not 
keep me from telling your Grace, that the weak- 
ness into which my amiable and beloved wife fell 
about a month ago, as you lately learned from me at 
Dillenburg, increased before and after my return, 

1 At one of the banquets that took place during this visit, 
Orange is said to have made slurring remarks about marriage as 
an institution — remarks which were quoted in after years as 
showing his low standard of morals at this period of his life. — 
MS. Orange-Nassau family archives. 



1558] Military Training 6 1 

until at last her life ceased. Thursday, the 24th of 
this present month, between six and seven o'clock, 
she departed, in a happy and Christian manner, to 
God the almighty, who will have mercy on her soul. 
. . . How heavy the loss is, which I and my young 
children have suffered, your Excellency may easily 
imagine. As, however, it cannot be changed, and 
as it is not proper to rebel against the ways of 
the Lord, I must leave all to the Eternal, and sub- 
mit myself to His will, and console myself with the 
thought that she died in full consciousness and as a 
Christian. r 

Philip wrote as follows: 

My cousin: Having learned of the serious in- 
disposition of my late cousin, your companion, and 
that, since your return to Breda from Frankfort you, 
too, had fallen seriously ill, I despatched the seignior 
de [Sombernon], bearer of this, to visit you both, and at 
the moment of his departure the news arrived, to my 
great sorrow, of the decease of my late cousin, which 
I feel keenly, both on account of her personal quali- 
ties, as well as for your sake, realising the loss you have 
suffered. . . . 

Your letters have renewed the sorrow I felt for the 
death of the Princess, your companion . . . and there 
was no need for you to excuse yourself for not having 
yet reported your expedition to Frankfort, which can 
easily wait until your spirit is a little reposed. 2 

To the Bishop of Arras, Orange wrote 3 : 

1 Groen, i., p. 32. 2 Ibid., p. 33. 3 Gachard Cor., i., p. 397. 



62 William the Silent [1551- 

Breda, March 28th, 1558. 

Monsieur: I thank you warmly for the letter 
which you were pleased to write me by Monsieur 
de Chantonay, 1 your brother, in consolation, and as 
mitigation of the grief and unsupportable sadness by 
which I am surrounded, for which I am greatly 
obliged to you, knowing the good affection and friend- 
ship that you bear me. 

But since it has so pleased God, and as in all things 
it is necessary to conform to His most holy will, I 
implore Him to give me strength that, following 
your advice, I can patiently bear it, and that He may 
give peace to the soul of the departed. As to what 
you desire to know of my malady, the beginning was, 
that on my arrival from Frankfort at Breda, the 
20th of the month, I found that she had been already 
given up by the physicians, and was in great pain; on 
the 24th, death ensued, which caused me such per- 
plexity and unspeakable grief, that I fell into a fever 
with convulsions. However (thank God) for the 
present I feel pretty well, only I still find myself weak. 

The young children mentioned were Philip 
William, born December 17, 1554, and Marie, 
born February 7, 1556. Another child was born 
and died in 1553. 

The formal phrases of these letters do not mean 
much, but the notes to Anna quoted above are 
sufficient proof that there was a pleasant relation- 
ship between the young pair. The Prince's letters 
are boyish and simple, written by his own hand, 
with an absence of etiquette and in great contrast 

1 Thomas Perrenot, Seignior de Chantonay. 



1558] Military Training 63 

to his ponderous, verbose communications of 
later date. They carry conviction that he trusted 
his wife, and certainly made her an active part- 
ner in their business affairs. Yet, even during 
the period of this fairly successful marriage, the 
Prince's warmest feelings seem to go out toward 
his brothers and sisters. Rarely was his household 
without some members of the Dillenburg family, 
trusted to the elder brother's care, in spite of 
certain apprehensions on Countess Juliana's part. 
At the time of Anna's death, Louis of Nassau and 
two of his sisters were at Breda. Juliana is very 
uneasy about their participation in the Catholic 
funeral rites. She writes to Louis that she is glad 
to hear that women are not expected to attend the 
ceremony, adding, "Thou canst find some excuse 
for absence. I wou'd be glad, indeed, if the Prince, 
too, could escape. Besides the fact that it is un- 
godly, I am sure it will only renew his grief. " x 

In all the family correspondence, it is very 
evident that the parents turn to their son for aid 
and counsel and that he responds to their demands 
warmly and affectionately. 

Count William anxiously consults him about 
sending Louis and John to France, so as to acquire 
French, and Orange is quite willing to make 
arrangements and to pay a portion of the expenses. 
The Franco-Imperial war renders this project 
unadvisable, and the Count thinks that the ducal 
court at Cleves might be an excellent substitute 

1 Jacobs, p. 120. 



64 William the Silent 11551- 

for his boys' education. The Duke of Cleves in- 
sisted on French being the language of his house- 
hold. To Cleves accordingly Count John was 
sent and there he chafed at his detention from 
the more exciting life led by Count Louis down 
in the Netherlands, to whom he writes as follows 1 : 

Well born friendly dear brother: I have received 
and read your kind letter wherein you tell me that 
my lord, the Prince, means to return to the field with 
his Majesty. I hope that your affection will remind 
the Prince of my welfare, so that I, too, can go with 
him. If you can only effect this, I beg you earnestly 
and affectionately to let me know as quickly as possi- 
ble, and tell me, too, with how many horses I should 
come, in your opinion. For I am longing to be in the 
business for a time. I do not doubt that if my lord, 
the Prince, would write in my behalf to the duke that 
his Grace would give me leave to go. My father and 
mother are perfectly satisfied and will add their sanc- 
tion if the duke approves. I am counting on your 
affection to further the project as energetically as 
you can, and neglect nothing, and I will repay your 
kindness with right brotherly good will at every possi- 
ble opportunity. 

As to the mountain with lantern or light [here are 
untranslatable puns on Leuchtenberg, the family name 
of John's future wife], I will not hide from you — as 
indeed I never have concealed anything, though you 
have sometimes thought so — that I am working in 
that direction as well as I can in a short time, and I 
have succeeded so far that I have surrendered and it 

1 Rachfahl, i., p. 216. (From the Wiesbaden archives.) 



1558] Military Training 65 

has cost me hand and ring. I have not yet been at 
the said berg — could not and would not go for I had 
to take care of myself in the dog days. Further I will 
not conceal from you that my sister Elizabeth has won 
Count Conrad von Solms, and my sister Anna, Count 
Albert of Nassau. The messenger of Count Schwarz- 
burg came a short time ago to my father at Dillen- 
burg about Count Giinther's marriage to my sister 
[Catherine] and soon there will be a great wedding 
time [Brduterei] there. 

I have not anything more to send to you in haste for 
we must get ready to ride out to meet Duke Ernest 
von Grubenhagen, who is to spend the night with my 
lord. I commend you affectionately to God in His 
might. Mile. Pallandt is our neighbour now. As 
soon as I see her I will greet her in your behalf. 
Your obedient brother, 

John, Count of Nassau. 
From Dusseldorf, 
July 5th, Anno '58. 

Present my compliments to my lord, the Prince, 
and give my affectionate regards to Counts Gunther 
and William von Schwarzburg, as well as to all the 
Prince's young men and comrades whom I know. 

Do try hard to get me permission to come to camp. 
If it does not come soon, I shall die. I have been long 
enough at court with maids of honour. 

At last Louis is taken formally into his brother's 
service. x 

I wish thee much good luck [writes his mother] in 
thy office. Now that thou art a regular official it is 

1 Rachfahl, i., p. 218. 
5 



66 



William the Silent 



[1551-1558] 



high time thou hadst a wife so that thou mayst con- 
duct thyself better, for she would keep thee from evil. 
I hope we shall soon see each other and herewith I 
recommend thee to Almighty God for all time. 




HAARLEM MONEY 




ORANGE MEDAL 



CHAPTER IV 

DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS 
I 558-1 559 , 

THE young widower was allowed brief respite 
from official duties. Nor was he allowed 
leave to attend the weddings in Nassau. Public 
affairs demanded all his attention. Even before 
the war closed, the part played by Orange was, 
however, diplomatic and confidential rather than 
military, as shown by his question whether it would 
not be useful for him, Orange, to sound Marshal 
St. Andre, a prisoner of war quartered at Breda 
on parole, before his guest had an opportunity 
to communicate with others. Would it not be 
expedient for him (Orange) to take conge from 
the camp on pretext of illness and discuss cer- 
tain matters quietly with his visitor, etc. Then, 
very shortly after the Spanish victories of the 
summer, serious peace negotiations were begun 
at Lille and continued first at the Abbey of Cer- 
camp, then at a chateau in the neutral territory 
of Cambray, by a commission of which the Prince 
was a member. 

From the very beginning, when the degree of 
67 



68 William the Silent [1558- 

the concessions each of the two parties might ac- 
cept were warily angled for in private colloquies, 
to the final seal set on the treaty itself after six 
months' parley, the Prince was absorbed heart 
and soul in the proceedings. 

The public joint conferences took place in the 
lodgings of the Duchess of Lorraine, the lady 
herself sitting 

at the boarde's ende and on the one syde the French 
commissioners and we [the English] on th' other, the 
Duke d'Alva& his colleagues sitting together beneathe. 1 

Monseigneur: After dinner to-day we met [Orange 
writes to the Duke of Savoy, October 15th] and ac- 
complished great things. There was some dispute 
before they agreed to our keeping Hesdinfert, as your 
Highness will see by our letter to his Majesty. We 
touched on other affairs and then adjourned until 
to-morrow. He is very firm about the sister as your 
Highness will see by our despatch. 2 

In case they agree to the restoration of Piedmont 
with the said sister, retaining certain places, which 
arrangement will, I think, be proposed, your High- 
ness will have to decide about the marriage. 3 

The marriage here referred to was that of the 

1 Calendar State Papers, Foreign, i553-'58, p. 402. 

2 The said sister was Margaret of Valois, whose marriage to 
the Duke of Savoy was made a condition of the restoration of 
his domains. There is an inaccurate version of this in Dumas's 
The Duke's Page. The fortress was named Hesdinfert in honour 
of the duke. The Savoy motto is indicated by the letters f e r t 
— Fortitudo Ejus Rhodum Tenuit. 

3 Cor., i., p. 409. 



1559] Diplomatic Efforts 69 

Duke, a side issue; but another more important 
union became possible in the early stages of the 
parley. The English Queen, Mary Tudor, com- 
pleted her unsatisfactory life on November 17, 
1558, leaving her Spanish husband free to confirm 
his diplomatic promises by taking a French wife. 
When the treaty was finally signed at Cateau- 
Cambresis on April 3, 1559/ it contained a 
provision that Philip II. was to marry Elizabeth 
of Valois, with a dowry of 400,000 crowns. This 
Elizabeth had once been intended as a bride for 
the vSpanish Infante Don Carlos, but her hand 
was easily shifted from the son to the conveniently 
widowed and more important father. 

Further, the treaty provided that all the places 
captured during the eight years of active hos- 
tilities should be restored to the statu quo of 155 1. 
There was, moreover, a collateral item of immense 
value to France, as it definitely restored Calais 
to her after centuries of English occupation, a 
restoration accorded while Mary Tudor was still 
in life to be bitterly pained by the loss to England. 
The result of the general territorial provision as 
regards the two contestants was that they were 
really left about where they had begun, in spite 
of the heavy expenditure of life and treasure 
during seven long years. Only as in the early 
period the Emperor had suffered the greater losses, 
so now his son enjoyed the greater gain. 

In his Apology the Prince takes great credit 

1 Dumont, Corps universel diplomatique, v., p. 34. 



70 William the Silent [1558- 

to himself for his skill in furthering this peace 
teeming with advantage to his sovereign. 

As to this treaty, disastrous to France and honour- 
able to Spain, if I may be allowed to speak of my part 
therein, the king cannot deny (had he a trace of 
gratitude) that I was one of the principal instruments 
in securing so advantageous a peace, for it was at his 
instance that I opened negotiations with the Con- 
stable and Marshal St. Andre. The king assured me 
that the greatest service in the world that I could 
render him would be to conclude this treaty, which 
he longed to obtain so that he might return to Spain. z 

It is probable that the assertion is true and yet 
something more than the truth, for the Bishop 
of Arras (Granvelle) was an able diplomat and 
was not a man to relinquish authority to a stripling, 
but the Prince was certainly a factor in the pro- 
ceedings. The final service asked of him was 
highly honourable, as he was appointed to act as 
one of the three hostages to Henry II. to assure 
the fulfilment of all the intricate and manifold 
provisions. With the Duke of Alva and Ruy 
Gomez, Orange proceeded to Paris in the early 
summer as the official guest of Henry II. The 
envoys carried their own baggage and kept up 
their own establishments during their obligatory 
detention in the French capital, as is shown by a 
little incident which Joseph de la Pise relates. 2 

1 Dumont, Corps universel diplomatique, v., p. 384, etc. 

2 Tableau des princes, etc., p. 270. 



1559] Diplomatic Efforts 71 

The butler's pantry of the house occupied by the 
Prince of Orange looked out upon a lane and 
through the window an array of silver plate was 
plainly visible to passers-by. The sight tempted 
a clever thief who succeeded in drawing piece after 
piece through the protecting grating by means 
of a long hook. The loss was quickly discovered, 
the man arrested and condemned to death, all 
without the knowledge of the victim of the theft. 
Just as the execution was about to take place, the 
royal hunt rode by the place and the Prince, 
always alert to events about him, asked a by- 
stander for what crime the culprit was to die. 
"For stealing the plate of the Prince of Orange," 
was the reply of the man, not knowing to whom 
he was speaking. At once the Prince begged his 
host to pardon the thief. Then he himself 
galloped up to the scaffold and stayed the pro- 
ceedings until the more leisurely King arrived 
and gave his royal command to free the con- 
demned, who was dismissed after a little gratui- 
tous sermon from his deliverer as to the evil of 
his ways and the need of radical reform. "By 
this act," adds the appreciative historian, "the 
greater part of the silver was recovered which 
a more rigorous treatment would have lost to 
the owner. " 

There was a series of festivities before the 
celebration of the matrimonial alliance between 
the French Princess and the Spanish King, Alva 
being Philip's proxy, and also there was some 



72 William the Silent [1558- 

bickering about the fulfilment of certain minor 
conditions of the treaty. 

In this fashion the contract with exhibition of 
powers was concluded on Wednesday [writes Orange, 
June 24th] at about seven o'clock in the evening at the 
Louvre, where later the betrothal took place, and day 
before yesterday the marriage was solemnised in 
front of the great church by Cardinal de Bourbon. 

The article respecting the first third of the said 
sum of 400,000 crowns was left with the words de la 
consummation. However, when it was read to the 
king at the time of registering it, the constable de- 
clared that payment should be prompt. 

That, Monsieur d' Arras, is all that has passed up 
to now as regards my commission, without my having 
been able to obtain an answer from these people on 
the items of our joint charge that we submitted in 
advance. They have continually put me off with the 
assertion that they would do it. And seeing that 
they were so occupied with the festivities, I did not 
press them quite as much as would have been suitable. 
But if, now that the festivities are over, they still 
delay in answering me, I will not hesitate to force 
matters. I was worked so hard the day of the 
wedding that I was forced to stay in bed all day 
yesterday. 

As to the wedding of the Duke of Savoy, that is 
postponed for a week — until eight days from to-morrow 
■ — with the excuse that his accoutrements will not be 
ready sooner, though it is said that the delay may be 
much longer. To-morrow the most Christian King 
will begin the tourneys. Please repeat this to his 
Catholic Majesty, and let me have frequent news of 



1559] Diplomatic Efforts 73 

your health. In recommending myself, M. d' Arras, etc. 
From Paris, St. John the Baptist's Day, 1559. z 

It is generally accepted that this Paris visit 
marked the date when the young courtier, hitherto 
loyal to his own sovereign, made a definite choice 
of the line of conduct he meant, thenceforth, 
to pursue. Among the popularly familiar illus- 
trations of the life of the Founder of the Dutch 
Republic is that of William of Nassau riding by 
the side of Henry II. in the forest of Vincennes 
on a summer day of 1559. The French monarch 
took it for granted that this protege of the late 
Emperor, this trusted servant of the present King, 
would be cognisant of all the purposes of Philip 
and so casually referred to the concerted action 
that he and his ex-foe were proposing to take 
in order to uproot heresy effectually from their 
respective domains. The Prince was taken com- 
pletely by surprise. In these long months of 
peace negotiations these particular measures had 
never been mentioned to him as a part of the 
international peace policy of the reconciled 
neighbours. But he gave no signs of perturba- 
tion at the King's disclosure, and Henry was quite 
unconscious of his companion's previous ignorance 
of what he was divulging. 

1 Cor., i., p. 416. The minute of the letter [Brussels archives] 
is in the handwriting of Berty, secretary to the three hostages. 
It is not signed, but Gachard considers that the writer was Orange 
and the style seems like his of that period. Moreover his habit 
of staying in bed when over-tired is well known. 



74 William the Silent [1558- 

Now it is possible that the hostage did learn 
from his royal host the fact that, in spite of his 
intimate association with the successive steps of 
the negotiations, there had still been secret con- 
ferences of which he had not been informed. 
The annoyance excited by this discovery rested 
in his memory to germinate later into a more 
definite criticism from a different point of view, 
more mature and highly coloured by intervening 
events. It is difficult wholly to reject the asser- 
tions of the Apology, supported as it is by Pontus 
Pay en, while implicit trust in its being the perfect 
truth is equally difficult. There is the mingling of 
veracious and faulty statements in the document 
natural in retrospect when an individual has 
emerged into a later phase of existence, when an 
old order has given way to a new. 

\When I was in France [so runs the Apology] 1 I 
heard out of King Henry's own mouth that the Duke 
of Alva had discussed with him the annihilation of all 
suspected of the religion in France, in the Netherlands, 
and in all Christendom. The king thought, since I 
was one of the plenipotentiaries in the peace negotia- 
tions, that I was informed of this important circum- 
stance and that I belonged to the same party. So he 
revealed to me the secret schemes of the King of Spain 
and the Duke of Alva. In order not to fall into con- 
tempt with the king as if secrets were kept from me, 
I answered so that the king was not undeceived. 

1 There are, however, indications in other letters showing that 
his attention was turned to the persecutions at this time and that 
he strongly disapproved of them. 




PHILIP II., AS PRINCE OF SPAIN, 1548 
BY TITIAN 



1559] Diplomatic Efforts 75 

That led to a complete exposition on his part of the 
establishment of the inquisition. I confess that I 
was overwhelmed with pity and sympathy for so 
many worthy people dedicated to ruin and for this 
land to which I owed so much and in which an in- 
quisition was to be introduced more terrible than 
the Spanish inquisition. Thus nets were to be spun 
in which the nobles and people of the land were 
destined to be entangled, so that the Spanish and 
their adherents should gain control over them, which 
they never could have acquired in any other way. 
Escape would have been impossible, for nothing more 
was needed than to look askance at an image to be 
condemned to the stake. Seeing these things as I 
say, I confess that from that moment I determined to 
aid in clearing these Spanish vermin out of the land 
and I have never repented my resolution. 1 . . . 

From the marvellous self-control maintained 
as he listened to the King's words the epithet 
of the silent one, of le taciturne, became attached 
for ever to this William of Nassau, at least such 
is the legend repeated by one pen after another 
until it has won a permanent place for itself. 

If his antagonism to his chief were, indeed, 
aroused and formulated in that one flash, the 
Prince succeeded marvellously well in keeping up 
the show of his former loyalty and in proceeding 
along the general line of his official duty without 
any explosion in regard to the particular grievance. 
But relations between him and Philip were 

1 Dumont, v., p. 392. 



76 William the Silent [1558- 

strained at times in the last weeks of the latter 's 
sojourn in the North. 

The postponed marriage of the King's sister with 
the Duke of Savoy had to be celebrated in quite 
a different fashion from the splendour attending 
the nuptials of Elizabeth of Valois. On June 29th, 
the order of the entertainment was a magnificent 
tournament in the faubourg St. Antoine, in which 
the King received a wound in the eye. The court 
gaiety was instantly clouded by anxiety and 
apprehension, during the days that elapsed before 
the fatal termination of the wound. On July 10th, 
Henry II. died and the brief career of Francis II. 
and Mary Stuart followed. 

The Duke of Alva was forced to stay on in 
the gloomy court, as Philip desired to have some- 
one watch his own young wife under the changed 
circumstances, but Orange hastened back to 
Brussels as quickly as he could, J and then a series 
of important events, public and private, followed 
in rapid succession. 

Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Parma, ille- 
gitimate daughter of the late Emperor, was ap- 
pointed Regent of the Netherlands. Under her the 
Prince of Orange was made Stadtholder of Hol- 

1 He was urged to return by Count Egmont who wrote (July 
8, 1559, Brussels) : " Car il e(s)t question de fere quelques remon- 
strances au roy ou que votre presence serviroit de beaucoup, 
se sont toutes choses quy vous emportent grandement comme des 
princhipaulx de pardecha. " The holograph letter [2 pp. in 
fol.] was in the Rappard collection of MS. sold at Amsterdam, 
June 16-17, 1910. 



1559] Diplomatic Efforts 77 

land, Zealand, and Utrecht, as Rene and Henry of 
Nassau had been before him. Then he was im- 
mediately called upon to fulfil many delegated 
duties falling to the nobles' share, on account of 
the imminent departure of Philip II. for Spain. 
There were, moreover, important meetings of 
the Netherlanders to take the monarch's parting 
words. A chapter of the Order of the Golden 
Fleece 1 was held as well as an assembly of the 
States -General, and in both of these there was 
bitterness to temper the sweetness of the compli- 
mentary phrases addressed to the King. At the 
first, two of the vacant places were filled by the 
election of Hoogstraaten and Martigny directly 
against Philip's expressed wish. At the second, 
the provincial deputies respectfully and firmly 
demanded that the Netherlands should be cleared 
of all Spanish troops and refused to vote an aide* 
requested by the King, until this withdrawal were 
assured. Philip knew that Orange had been to 
the fore in both actions and naturally resented 
the opposition which he thought he could trace 
to its source. On his part the Prince had private 
grievances in addition to the suspicions that he 
had been played with in the treaty. 

In common with all the nobles, Orange was 

1 The Prince had been taken into the Order in 1555. 

2 An aide was originally a pecuninary tribute paid on certain 
occasions by a vassal to his lord. In the Netherlands by 
Philip's time it had become a mere appropriation, but requested, 
not levied. If the deputies of the towns acceded to the sov- 
ereign's request they raised the money as they could. 



78 William the Silent [1558- 

displeased at the unexpected nomination of the 
King's half sister to the regency, and personally 
he felt that he had been undermined in certain 
advantageous marriage projects that had suc- 
cessively seemed almost within his grasp. But 
there was no open rupture between the two men 
although there is one frequently repeated story, 
resting on the testimony of a single witness, 
Louis Aubery, x that Philip did give vent publicly 
to his irritation on one memorable occasion. 

At the very moment when he was about to 
embark he began to reproach the Prince for the 
audacity of the States-General in daring to make 
conditions before granting him the aide. Orange 
replied that the States alone were responsible. 
"Not the States, but you, you, you," was the 
monarch's angry rejoinder, the last word of his 
ever heard by the Prince. 

Then Philip turned his face homeward, and 
Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Parma, was left 
to carry on the intricate government of the aggre- 
gated provinces. Henceforth these Low Countries 
were to be administered as though they were a 
kind of colonial possession of Spain. The Nether- 
land nobles were left in responsible individual 
positions as stadtholders of the various provinces 
and were, as a group, expected to be a support 
to the deputed ruler. As a matter of fact the 
balance of power was shifted at court in a way 
to effect the equilibrium. 

1 Memoir es de Louis Aubery, Seignior du Maurier, p. II. 



1559] Diplomatic Efforts jg 

The Prince of Orange had another change to 
meet in this year 1559, as the death of his father 
(October 6th) made him head of his family. He 
had not the usual gain of eldest sonc, being 
already in possession of all that he was to inherit. 
The German estates fell to his brothers with 
John at the head, but the Prince never discarded 
the paternal titles he had a right to wear, and his 
position as actual chief of the Nassaus was never 
denied him by his brothers. 

On October 15th he sent Count Louis a letter 
about the loss they had all suffered and filled with 
expressions of hope that the traditions of family 
unity would be faithfully preserved. "You who 
know my affection for my brothers can assure 
them of my sentiments. Try and assist Madame 
our mother according to our duty towards her. 
Serve her and please her in all that you can, " etc., 
are the concluding phrases of the letter of "this 
very good brother to command." A postscript 
follows, less formal and less conventional in its 
phrases : 

My brother: As to the journey which you were 
to make with the Count of Schwarzburg on the busi- 
ness you wot of, I beg you to tell me your plans and 
whether you expect to go or not so that I can arrange 
accordingly. I pray you to kiss for me the hands of 
the Count of Schwarzburg and of my sister Catherine 
and to assure her that I will be a good brother to her 
all my life as well as to Juliana and Magdalene. 
Though they have lost a father they shall find another 



8o 



William the Silent [1558-1559] 



in me. I beg you to let me know what the Count 
of Schwarzburg has resolved about his marriage and 
anything else going on there and present my most 
humble duty to our mother. 

Your very good brother, 

William. 

The purpose of the expedition mentioned in- 
troduces a new chapter in the Prince's career — 
which will be treated by itself later. 




ORANGE MEDAL 



CHAPTER V 

THE PRINCE IN 1 559 

WITH Philip's departure and the death of 
William the Elder the Prince's terms of 
subordinate life may be counted as ended, and the 
mature man stands forth as the finished product 
of his inherited past and his acquired present, of 
his education and his training, of his experiences 
and his environment. What individual of twenty- 
six could be found in all Europe so singularly well 
prepared for his then opening career of public 
service as the younger William of Nassau? His 
early studies have been described. Undoubtedly 
they were good as far as they went and they went 
into languages, probably, rather than into mathe- 
matics or science. Later state documents, bearing 
the Prince's signature, show, indeed, a marvellous 
facility in classical and historical allusion; but 
some of that matter, occasionally the major part, 
ponderous as it is facile, was the work of secretaries 
trained to the use of compendia of knowledge. 
Still the Prince was never the blind follower of a 
scribe. His general information was sufficiently 
6 81 



82 William the Silent 

wide to enable him to know what suited his purpose 
in any line of knowledge; and, as time went on, 
his main desire was ability to handle human beings. 
In this age after the Renaissance, when many 
people of rank played with bits of learning, there 
was no trace of the precieux in this noble's amuse- 
ments. He did not dip into the aesthetic pleasures 
affected by Italian potentates nor did he, like 
Philip of Hesse, revel in knotty theological 
problems as agreeable mental exercise. He was 
not a connoisseur in art though he indulged in 
an expensive household luxury that included art 
among its necessities, but it was distinctly as a 
patron, not as an amateur catering to his own 
sensitive aesthetic tastes. That little apocryphal 
glimpse of his dancing away merrily in Paris 
without keeping time to the music seems curiously 
possible as a true portrait of the young lieutenant 
at eighteen. At twenty-four his dignity would 
hardly have permitted him to dance for a prize, 
but he was no better skilled in music than Vieille- 
ville made him in his picture. His ear was 
attuned to the human chord and the world of 
man was his orchestral instrument. At the court 
of Charles V., he was perfectly initiated into the 
mysteries of etiquette and into the usages of 
European society. He was completely at ease with 
people of rank, and when it came to conversing 
with his inferiors he adopted a genial tone without 
thought of his rank, too assured to be jeopardised. 
A pleasant way, a ready identification of faces, a 



The Prince in i$5g 83 

cordial greeting to all comers, were habits as natural 
to him as breathing, and won him many adherents, 
with or without intention on his part. " Every 
time the Prince lifts his hat he wins a friend," was 
the statement of an opponent. 

Then the practical training given to the youth 
after he passed on from the status of page and 
pupil was immensely valuable in developing his 
character and in enriching his resources. His mili- 
tary experience was one of exacting service, not 
that of a pampered courtier in a fancy regiment. 
He learned the kind of obedience which* leads to 
a power of command. He was thoroughly disci- 
plined by, and cognisant of, the sordid side of 
warfare, not stimulated by the strained excitement 
of a few brilliant battles. He acquired a field 
knowledge of the science of pitching camps and 
of building fortifications, and his letters show that 
he was well versed in the local conditions required 
for military construction. He gained a painful 
acquaintance with the results of short commons 
and of uncertain wages when dealing with grasping 
and restless mercenaries, and then, unlike most 
commanders, as a civil officer he had the equally 
painful experience of explaining financial needs 
to the non-combatant commercial and reluctant 
tax-payers or to their representatives, sitting 
solidly upon the covers of the civic money chests. 
When he was charged with the ungrateful task 
of urging Estates and towns to contribute liberally 
towards royal expenditure, he fulfilled his duty 



84 William the Silent 

as long as he thought the requests of his master 
proper, and then he took sides with the opposition 
in open assembly of the States- General. 

He had learned what was meant by the law's 
delays and by legal quips and quirks in the tedious 
Catzenellenbogen suit, in which his father was 
absorbed when he was born and which was com- 
municated to him as an independent party before 
he was barely old enough to comprehend the in- 
tricacies of meum and tuum. All his early experi- 
ences were far in advance of the usual age for 
responsibility. While his own children were still 
in their nurse's arms, it has been shown how Orange 
was consulted by his father regarding the details of 
the education and training of his younger brothers 
and sisters, who all accepted his fraternal advice 
gratefully and were his adoring admirers and faith- 
ful followers to the end of their days. 

The Prince's missions to Germany both at 
behest of his sovereign and in behalf of Nassau 
affairs, possibly one journey to England, the 
important part he played in the Cateau-Cambresis 
treaty, the official sojourn in Paris with its dis- 
illusionment s and annoyances, — all these ex- 
periences alike were wonderful training for a 
mind like his. He was very young when he came 
under the influence of the Bishop of Arras, Anthony 
Perrenot, and was thoroughly schooled in the 
skilful methods of that astute churchman when 
he was rudely turned from a natural boyish ad- 
miration for the man's high degree of cultivated 



The Prince in IJS9 &5 

cleverness by the discovery that Orange himself 
had been treated with the same smooth duplicity 
that he had seen diplomatically employed towards 
others, with the same pretended frankness com- 
bined with actual deception. Yet the outer rela- 
tions between prelate and prince were unchanged 
for some time, because the latter had learned 
worldly wisdom and self-control from the former. 

The fact that his experiences in affairs, as in 
theology, were international was one element that 
differentiated William of Nassau from the ma- 
jority of his German, Italian, French, and English 
contemporaries. As said before, it would be 
strange if a man living contentedly in one set of 
daily associations with loving memories of and 
intercourse with another quite alien, in respect to 
the standards of religious life, possessed the same 
intensity of conviction regarding any local stand- 
ard as a home-keeping youth. Family links 
certainly formed a strong chain to keep the Prince 
from floating away in the court atmosphere. 
There was always one anchor that tugged at his 
heart-strings while he was sailing close to a 
Spanish-Austrian wind. 

As regards the Prince's outward appearance 
there is the portrait given as frontispiece, painted 
about this time. That shows an agreeable, force- 
ful face. In addition there is the following con- 
temporary (1562) description of him: "'-Now 
twenty-five years old, his stature is well developed, 
his figure distinguished. He is strong and manly, 



86 William the Silent 

skilled in military science, a great favourite among 
the people whose affection he gains by open- 
handed generosity. He is a prince of the greatest 
promise." 1 

From a material point of view at the first glance, 
his position appears as favourable as that of a 
private individual could be, especially after 1559 
when the Franco- Spanish peace restored, to a 
partial degree, the enjoyment of the Orange - 
Chalons estates. His property consisted of sev- 
eral distinct portions, besides his interest in the 
German heritage of his House. The smallest 
fraction of the whole was the German part. That 
was confined to certain liens upon the Nassau 
heritage and upon one-half of the Catzenellen- 
bogen portion adjudged to the plaintiffs. The 
principality of Orange was not very large. The 
Prince referred to it as about one-sixth of his 
whole property. 2 But it was a dominant sixth — 
as its sovereign held by the gift of God, subject 
to no king. To be sure this nominal independence 
was somewhat shadowy, although the princes were 
enabled by it to address kings as " cousin. " The 
enjoyment de facto depended on the good will 
of the French monarch in whose realm the tiny 
statelet was embedded, bordering on Languedoc, 
Provence, Dauphine, and the papal Avignon. The 
capital was the city of the same name, the seat 

1 Cor., Marg. d'Autriche, Reiffenberg, p. 368. 

2 La Pise, Tableau de Vhistoire des princes etprincipaute d' Orange, 
p. 261. See also Rachfahl, L, p. 141. 



The Prince in 1559 87 

of a university founded in 1536 and of a parlia- 
ment (not established, however, until 1571) the 
highest court of the diminutive land. The town 
lies east of the Rhone, at the foot of a hill crowned 
with a citadel. It is further noted for a theatre 
built into the green hillside and for other remains 
of Roman occupation. Besides the town of 
Orange there were, within the principality, three 
un walled towns, various villages and hamlets, 
castles and fiefs in the hands of noble vassals. It 
is a lovely spot, a garden of France, the northern 
edge of the olive region. But there had been few 
periods in its history when the enjoyment of the 
line of petty sovereigns of Orange had not been 
hampered. These seigniors had usually adhered 
to the Emperor in the long series of Franco- 
imperialist hostilities, at the outbreak of which 
the principality was regularly confiscated by the 
French King to be as regularly returned when 
peace was made. The loss suffered by William 
of Nassau was simply a repetition of the experience 
of his predecessors. In 1552, as a compensa- 
tion for the deprivation of his lands in France, 
Charles V. assigned to him the temporary usufruct 
of certain Netherland estates confiscated from 
Anthony of Bourbon. 

In the heritage as it fell to Rene of Nassau from 
Philibert of Orange, there were also various estates 
in the duchy and Franche-Comte of Burgundy and, 
in addition to what the legal possessor could be 
actually invested with, a number of claims and 



88 William the Silent 

titles of one kind and another all so shadowy that 
it could be truly said that the major part of this 
fair sounding wealth consisted of castles in the 
air rather than on earthly foundations. For 
instance, as legatee of the three families of Orange, 
Beaux, and Chalons, William of Nassau had pre- 
tensions to one kingdom, Aries, to one duchy, 
Gramme, to three principalities, sixteen count- 
ships, two margraveships, two viscount ships, and 
to more than fifty baronies, and three hundred 
lordships ! If he could have made good his claims 
on French soil he would have^been the richest 
peer in France, but his actual usufruct was frag- 
mentary in spite of intermittent prospects of bet- 
ter times. In the treaty of 1559, all the estates 
in Dauphine were ordered to be restored to the 
Prince but the restoration was never effected. 

The exact scope of the estates he was ever 
actually permitted to control in France is not 
known. Those in the Franche-Comte yielded 
about 27,000 livres excluding the dower right 
of Rene's sometime widow, the Duchess of 
Aerschot. But this was not clear revenue. 
Litigation respecting other portions was a con- 
tinual drain and there were other leakages that 
diminished the current flowing into the Prince's 
private treasury. 

In other sections the value of the property can 
be more precisely estimated. The profits from 
the countship of Brabant and the viscountship of 
Antwerp amounted to 65,500 livres. There were 



The Prince in 1559 89 

a few holdings in Brabant which finally lapsed 
to the Prince after the demise of the Duchess of 
Aerschot and some fairly profitable estates in 
Luxemburg and Flanders, to which were added 
all the disposable property of Anna of Egmont 
whose will was in her husband's favour, so far as 
she was free to make it. The estimated income 
was in total about 200,000 livres, which implied 
a capital of about 4,000,000 livres. In order to 
obtain the comparative significance of this revenue, 
it may be stated that the net return of the royal 
domain in the Netherlands was about one-third 
more. 

Unfortunately for the Prince, much of what 
revenue he did receive was spent long before it 
fell due. The estate was terribly encumbered at 
his accession. In 1549 his guardians had difficulty 
in saving 12,000 livres for the cash income. The 
years of minority were well employed in nursing 
the estate, and some relief was afforded when 
certain moneys came in on the death of the Duchess 
of Aerschot and when a large quantity of timber 
was felled in Luxemburg and sold at a good profit. 
But the whole debt was not liquidated and new 
burdens came. Every charge accepted by the 
Prince, military and diplomatic, entailed heavy 
outlays for which the allotted honoraria were 
insufficient. Granvelle estimated the Prince's 
debts (1560) at more than 900,000 guilders, his 
available income at 25,000, and his household 
expenses at 90,000. This estimate was probably 



90 William the Silent 

not mere guess-work, as Jerome Perrenot was at 
one time chamberlain of the Prince's household 
and might have given his brother definite in- 
formation as to the state of affairs. 

The administration of this encumbered estate 
was a veritable business in itself and was carried 
on at Breda by several officials retained for the 
purpose. 

Meantime the maintenance of the ordinary 
routines of the households at Breda and in 
Brussels was very lavish and very extravagant. 
An open buffet laden with good things invited 
not only the passing friend but the chance ac- 
quaintance to make good cheer, and the invita- 
tion was easily accepted. Perhaps the years of 
the most reckless expenditure were those of the 
Prince's widowerhood, as they were also the 
most self-indulgent. There are frequent refer- 
ences in the intimate letters which show that 
his standard of life and morals was by no means 
puritanic at this period. 




SIEGE MONEY 



CHAPTER VI 

THE SECOND MARRIAGE 
I560-I561 

IN the postscript to the Prince's letter of October 
1 5? I 559> occurs a reference to a personal 
matter that, in the end, took on large pro- 
portions and shadowed his actions for nearly two 
years. The Nassau family circle was at one in 
the desire to see this important member enter into 
a second marriage. The question before them all 
was what eligible partie in the matrimonial market 
offered the highest degree of advantage to an 
ambitious man. Worldly motives, such as had 
invariably affected the choice of a consort among 
the Prince's forbears, were paramount in his own 
case in a perfectly undisguised manner. 

Two separate schemes for a French alliance 
had failed in a fashion to convince Orange that 
there had been underhand machinations on the 
part of Philip, instigated by Anthony Perrenot. 1 

1 Orange had proposed for Renee of Lorraine, Philip's cousin 
german. It is said that her widowed mother, Christine, inti- 
mated that she herself would be a more suitable match for the 
Prince than her daughter. Another version of the rupture 
of negotiations was that the widow stipulated that her daughter's 

91 



92 William the Silent [1560- 

Therefore, when he turned to Germany to pursue 
his quest, he kept his own counsel strictly within 
a small group of intimates until the negotiations 
were fairly launched, so that the project should 
escape the risk of being stifled at the outset. The 
"business you wot of" mentioned in the October 
letter quoted in an earlier chapter was nothing less 
than preliminary steps towards a proposal for the 
hand of Anne of Saxony, daughter of the late 
Duke Maurice and niece of the reigning Elector 
of Saxony. Many advantages were apparent 
in this match. No other person, available at 
the moment, was equally well connected with 
various quasi-independent German princes whose 
friendship was peculiarly tempting to the Nether- 
lander. This significance of the bride's kinsmen 
compensated for the fact that her actual dowry 
was not very large. Still that too was no insignifi- 
cant sum for the times. It amounted in all to 

possible offspring should take precedence of the Prince's children 
by Anna of Egmont. Still another was that Philip and Perrenot 
feared Christine's intrusion into Netherland politics through a 
powerful son-in-law. 

The Prince's second choice in France was the widow of the 
Due d'Enghien, a daughter of the Count of St. Pol. This time 
it was, apparently, the French king who put in a veto. 

Meantime Orange was not enhancing his own reputation for 
good morals. A certain Eve Elivir who bore him a son (Septem- 
ber, 1559), Justin of Nassau, was, apparently, only one of 
several mistresses with whom he amused himself. This is proven 
by various passages in familiar letters. Justin was acknowledged 
and educated by the Prince. Later he became Admiral of 
Holland and a good right hand to his half-brother Maurice whom 
he served faithfully. 



1561] The Seeond Marriage 93 

100,000 thalers. 1 There were, however, potent 
reasons why this particular selection of a German 
bride should have been peculiarly repugnant to the 
Prince's royal master. Anne's father, Maurice 
of Saxony, had inflicted notorious humiliation 
upon Philip's father; and not only had the girl 
herself been nurtured in the Protestant faith, but 
another bitter opponent of the late Emperor and 
of the Catholic Church, Philip, Landgrave of 
Hesse, was her maternal grandfather and pos- 
sessed equal control with her paternal uncle over 
the disposition of her hand. The Landgrave, on 
his part, was not pleased at the proposed match 
and had many sententious opinions to utter 
on the impropriety of sacrificing an innocent 
young girl by mating her with an irreligious 
courtier who attended popish rites regularly, albeit 
with the careless heart of an indifferent worshipper. 
The Elector was the main promoter of the matri- 
monial alliance. Private reasons made him find 
the suitor quite to his taste. Had his niece been 
a boy, Augustus could not have filled his brother's 
electoral shoes, and he was far from feeling per- 
fectly secure in his footing until it was certain 
upon what manner of man Anne's hand was to be 
bestowed. With an ambitious German princeling 
or baron as her husband an inconvenient claim 

1 Of this 25,000 came from Anne's mother, 10,000 from her 
father in accordance with an informal memorandum written on 
his death-bed but duly recognised by his heir Augustus, who 
moreover increased the legacy by 35,000 thalers. Thirty thou- 
sand thalers came to Anne after the death of her step-father. 



94 William the Silent [1560- 

upon her paternal heritage might be urged. The 
suit of the Prince of Orange offered an excellent 
opportunity of sending the late Duke's heiress 
safely out of the empire with an honourable 
husband possessing a dignified sufficiency of titles 
and offices of his own. The prospect was tempting 
enough to make the Elector willing to shut his 
eyes to the diversity of religious interests, and 
this willingness was fully shared by the Electress 
who found her husband's niece no agreeable 
member of her household and was desirous of be- 
ing freed from an uncongenial guardianship of a 
difficult ward. 

Anne was born in 1544 and was, therefore, in 
her seventeenth year in 1560, when the negotia- 
tions for her hand were well under way. Thus 
she possessed youth but little else of the charm 
associated with her tender years. Not only were 
her features without positive beauty but her figure 
was actually slightly misshapen, a fact that in- 
duced her uncle to add, when stating his reasons for 
accepting the Prince's proposal, that if this oppor- 
tune chance of matrimony missed fire, Anne might 
be left unwedded for good and all. Her dis- 
position was apparently in harmony with her 
figure, — slightly distorted out of the normal. 
There was early indication that she was extremely 
self-willed and headstrong. Both tenacity and 
obstinacy were traits to be expected in Anne's 
composition. Her own father and her mother's 
father were two of the most determined and 



1561] The Second Marriage 95 

least conciliatory men of their generation, and it 
was not astonishing that a child of their joint 
race should fail to be a gentle and amenable 
Griselda. The very qualities that, at their best, 
made the Landgrave a kind of intellectual force and 
stamped the Elector as a masterful soldier, at their 
worst rendered poor untrained, immature Anne 
restless and jealous at her failure to be first, and 
unable to see that fate had not united capacity 
to her ambitions. At an early stage in the pro- 
ceedings her imagination was fired by stories of 
the stately court at Brussels, and when at last 
the Prince, a shining ornament of that gay court, 
came (December, 1560) in person to Dresden to 
further his own wooing, she was completely 
captivated by his manner, polished beyond the 
wont of the ordinary German noble. His graceful 
speeches carried more meaning to her inexperienced 
mind than they would have to a woman of fashion. 
They were sweet music to an ear unaccustomed 
to the mere commonplaces of social life. This 
agreeable gentleman had said, too, that he would 
rather have her amuse herself with gay romances 
than be bored with treatises. It all sounded very 
pleasant. Thenceforth Anne was bent upon the 
alliance with all the dogged force of a mind intense 
as it was limited, meagre as it was undisciplined. 
Her consent was, however, a very small item 
in the affair ; and it was many months after Count 
Louis and the Count of Schwarzburg had carried 
the Prince's overtures to Dresden, before the 



g6 William the Silent [1560- 

nuptial contract was concluded. The interests 
involved were contradictory, and Orange had to 
feel his way very carefully before the Catholic 
Philip's countenance was obtained and before 
the Protestant Philip's prohibition was removed. 
Only a man with the innate qualities of a com- 
promiser could have steered through so many 
shoals without losing the ballast of his personal 
integrity, without actual deterioration and a loss 
of self-respect. One author calls the incident 
of the Saxon marriage a black spot on the Prince's 
character. 1 It may be urged, however, that the 
procedure showed capacity for sophistry rather 
than moral turpitude. The man had determined 
to act according to his own judgment, and he let 
fly plausible versions of his motives here and there 
with the evident intention of silencing rather than 
with any hope of converting his critics. He went 
as far as possible on his way before his itinerary 
was published and he did this with deliberate 
purpose. He meant that it should be too late 
to retrace steps, the right to which he intended 
to have taken for granted, as belonging to himself 
alone. His first formal announcement to his own 
government was made not to the Regent, who might 
be too well informed about the Saxon family, but 
to the distant King, to whom vague and general 

1 "For his fanatical admirers as well as for the enemies of 
Orange, the caution is not superfluous that they must remember 
it is not charged that his whole character consists of these two 
blemishes." — Ritter, Hist. ZeitschrifL, lviii., p. 410. 



1561] The Second Marriage 97 

terms could be used, veiling the exact identity 
of the maiden. The Prince's undated letter to 
Philip advising that monarch of his proposed 
marriage with "a niece of the Elector of Saxony, " 
was probably written in February, 1560. 1 He is 
definite in his assertion that due regard will be 
paid to the interests of the Catholic religion. 
Philip replies in non-committal terms. His sister 
" would be a more competent judge of the matter," 
etc. 2 During the subsequent months when the 
ultimate maturity of the plan was often doubt- 
ful, Anthony Perrenot seized every occasion to 
refer to the project incidentally in his letters to 
the King, always adding that he earnestly hoped 
for its failure. 3 "The Prince had indeed every 
appearance of being a Catholic yet one never 
could tell what would be the results of alien 
influence," etc. When Orange returned from 
Dresden and again mentioned the marriage in 
more definite terms, Philip in his turn wrote to 
Perrenot expressing his great disappointment, 
although at the same time he directed his sister 
to give her consent if there were no means of 
stopping the proceedings, adding in plaintive 
rather than authoritative phrases: "Really, I 
do not understand how the Prince can mate him- 
self with the daughter of a man who acted towards 
his sainted Majesty as Duke Maurice did." 4 

1 Cor., L, p. 430. 2 Ibid., p. 345. 

* Papier s d'etat du Cardinal Granvelle, vi., p. 29, etc. 

* Ibid., p. 175. 

7 



98 William the Silent [1560- 

The Prince's expedition to Dresden and back 
was made the occasion of much merry-making. 
Orange appears entirely in the light of a man 
relaxing from the tension of public affairs and 
ready to amuse himself in social converse with the 
friends who were interested in his projects and in 
furthering his wishes. And they lightened their 
labours by sparing neither wine nor beer as they 
journeyed along. In his letter to Augustus, to 
thank him for his agreeable visit at Dresden, 
Orange says that he and his comrades have quaffed 
so many glasses to the Elector's health on the home- 
ward journey that they are still suffering from the 
ill effects. From Breda he writes to Schwarzburg, 
now husband of Catherine of Nassau, that his 
party made disturbance enough on their way 
home (assez de desordre sur le chemin), and then 
adds: 

I assure you I feel very solitary here and cannot 
forget the excellent cheer we have had together. 
I long to be with you, not only for your own sake 
but because I should be near fraielle Anne. I have 
not yet been at court as I am obliged to make a trip 
to Holland, so that I have no fresh news to tell you. I 

The business that demanded Orange's presence 
in Holland was to urge the Estates to grant the 
supplies needed by the Regent. This trip was a 
contrast to the other. There was no joyous 
companionship. The alternation of frost and 

1 Groen, i., p. 68. 



15611 The Second Marriage 99 

thaw increased the difficulties of travelling, and 
the Prince's errand was an extremely ungrateful 
one. The Estates steadily refused to make an 
appropriation except upon conditions which the 
Regent declined accepting, and the stadtholder 
found reconciliation of the two points of view fully 
as difficult a task as that of satisfying the oppos- 
ing opinions in relation to his own plans. 

For, to return to the Prince's private affairs, an- 
tagonism to the Saxon alliance remained rampant 
long after the principals in the bargain, the guard- 
ian, the suitor, and the maiden, were firmly re- 
solved to guard against possible shipwreck of their 
intentions when once launched upon the current. 
All the projectiles of argument hurled against the 
bark rebounded, fell, and made little futile whirl- 
pools without imperilling the channel. 

In March, a polite and ponderous epistle came 
from the Landgrave to Orange explaining why 
it was absolutely impossible to allow his grand- 
daughter to give him her hand. Having stated 
his objections on the score of religion, Philip of 
Hesse adds that even if that insurmountable 
barrier did not exist, never could he permit an 
alliance when the very name of the possible 
offspring was uncertain. Necessarily, Orange's 
children by his first wife had the right of primo- 
geniture, and it was not suitable for the grand- 
children of the great Elector Maurice to take 
second rank, etc. 1 

1 Groen, i., p. 81. 



100 William the Silent [1560- 

There is a story, gravely repeated with an ap- 
pearance of credibility, that the old Landgrave 
was less punctilious in regard to the consciences 
of his own offspring than to that of his ward's, and 
that he was willing, rather than countenance an 
incongruous mismating of Protestant and Catholic, 
to permit one of his daughters — there were 
several still flourishing on the parent stem — turn 
Catholic outright and marry the papist Prince. 1 
Undoubtedly, this assertion, strange in this 
Philip's mouth, was a mere figure of speech, a 
reductio ad absurdum of the argument, not an 
offer expected to be taken seriously by any one. 

The following letter from Orange to Count 
Louis, written about a fortnight after the receipt of 
the Landgrave's futile ultimatum, was as follows : 

I have decided to send someone to the duke to make 
a verbal statement concerning my intentions [evidently 
in re religion] and certain other things of which my 
German secretary will inform you. I am thinking 
of begging you to do this service for me and of asking 
you affectionately to take this trouble and to go to 
the said duke and discuss the subject with him con- 
fidentially, taking as your guide the enclosed memo- 
randum and the advices of my secretary. . . . 

Pray press the maiden's hand on my behalf and tell 
her how I envy your good fortune in being able to see 
her when I cannot. Thank her for the warm affec- 
tion toward me that her letter shows and say further 
that I implore her, as our wedding day is fixed and 

1 Bakhuizen van den Brink, Het Huwelijk, etc. p. 145. 




WILLIAM OF NASSAU, PRINCE OF ORANGE, 1561 



1561] The Second Marriage ioi 

the arrangements so advanced, to continue in the 
same attitude of mind and not to let herself be per- 
suaded into indefinite postponements. If anyone 
tries to make her believe the existence of obstacles 
regarding religion or anything else, tell her to rest 
assured that for my part I will try my best to live 
with her so that she may be content. If they at- 
tempt to put any notion in her head to increase the 
difficulties, I think the answer best calculated to 
silence everybody would be, "If God has willed this 
we will agree together," — which ought to stop idle 
talk. I beg you to make this plain to her, for you 
know very well the result of incessant chatter. I re- 
gret troubling you and am sorry, too, to lose your 
company for so long but it need not be a matter of 
more than a fortnight. 

As to the chase of Holland my license is come from 
Spain and the King has also appointed me to the 
government of Burgundy. 

I have had a present of the prettiest hunting dog in 
the world, white as snow. I took a heron yesterday 
on a very long flight which lasted a quarter of an 
hour in steady ascent. 

Your affectionate and obedient brother, 

William of Nassau. 

Brussels, March 23, 1561. 1 

On the younger brother's part ready obedience 
was, indeed, always to be counted on when the 
Prince's behests were to be fulfilled. In this case 
he proved a faithful emissary to Dresden, certainly 
as far as Anne was concerned. A letter written 

1 Groen. i., p. 93. 



102 William the Silent [1560- 

by her to the Prince a little later contains assur- 
ances of her steadfastness and of her determination 
not to be overruled by her grandfather's preju- 
dices. "My feelings towards your Highness are 
the same as when I last wrote and I mean to bide 
by them, for I firmly believe that what God has 
decreed the devil himself cannot hinder," 1 — a 
phrase suggestive of a sweet and docile maiden! 
The commission to press Anne's hand in behalf 
of his brother was a side issue in Louis's mission. 
The main point was to convince the Elector by 
word of mouth that the Prince would protect 
his wife in the exercise of her religion. Louis 
was less successful with the uncle than with the 
niece. Augustus insisted on his taking charge of 
a certain " little document," characterised by the 
Count as "rather strange, diffuse and hairsplit- 
ting" {"etwas seltsam, weitlaufig und spitz findig) ." ' 2 
This contained stipulations that Anne should en- 
joy Protestant services, and be assured of Evan- 
gelical baptism for her children and of a better 
dower house than Hadamar. In forwarding this 
paper to the Prince, Louis advised him to have 
nothing to do with it. 

As he then stood with the King and Church it 
would have been impossible for Orange to have 
set his signature to such a document, whose 
existence would speedily have been reported to 
Spain. He confined himself to verbal assurances 
that his wife should be treated as befitted her 

1 Groen, i., p. 94. 2 Ibid., p. 101. 



1651] The Second Marriage 103 

lineage and her upbringing, while she must con- 
form publicly to court usage, and with such state- 
ments the not over-solicitous uncle was obliged to 
be content. Signature to the "little document" 
was not made a sine qua non at that moment and 
the preparation for the nuptials went gaily on in 
spite of the frowns from Spain and the prohibitions 
from Hesse. 

My brother [wrote Orange to Louis], now that the 
wedding day is appointed, please inquire particularly 
of Count Schwarzburg, if you see him, about the 
arrangements that will be necessary for my journey to 
Dresden, whether I should take a large escort from 
here, what presents I ought to give the bride and the 
bridesmaids, whether a wedding journey be needful 
or not, what Germans should be invited, and many 
other items which you think it would be well for me 
to know. Pray find out how the bride will be dressed 
and what colours the princess considers hers. 1 

The date settled on was August 24th, — a date 
that might have been considered one of ill omen 
a dozen years later when the name of St. Bar- J 
tholomew became associated with the terrible 
massacre at Paris, — and the preparations were 
energetically rushed on to completion. 

The old Landgrave, finding his protests quite 
unavailing, submitted to the inevitable with the 
words, "Since it must and will be, God the Al- 
mighty grant that it goes well with the fraulein 

1 Groen, i., p. 103. 



104 William the Silent [1560- 

in soul, in honour, and in weal of body and of 
estate." This chary blessing was all that could 
be wrung from him, and he steadily declined the 
invitations to ceremony and to festival for himself 
and his sons. Still, in lieu of better, his grudging 
words were gratifying to Augustus and to the 
Prince's mother, Juliana of Stolberg, who con- 
gratulated her son (June 21st) on the withdrawal 
of the opposition of the one man who was "so 
set against the marriage." Piously and affec- 
tionately she expresses a hope that henceforth 
Almighty God will have the couple in his keeping. 
The Spanish Philip, too, bowed assent to the 
inevitable. In spite of dissatisfaction his outward 
yielding was fairly graceful. He commanded Mar- 
tigny to be his proxy at the wedding, and he sent 
his sister a draft of 3000 crowns wherewith to 
purchase a ring for the bride. Undoubtedly the 
formal sanction on the part of the King was ad- 
vised by Granvelle as the wisest measure under 
the circumstances, but the prelate still continued 
to utter deprecatory phrases. 

I am in no wise satisfied. Perhaps it will not be 
wholly disastrous to the Lord's service, but if He does 
not work a miracle it is to be feared that the Prince, 
instead of enhancing the reputation of his House 
which he publishes as his aim, may find himself in- 
volved in serious calamity — a result we have prophesied 
repeatedly. 1 

1 Granvelle, Papier s d'etat, vi M pp. 288, 333. 



1561] The Second Marriage 105 

Orange was obliged to content himself with 
the scanty marks of royal courtesy thus accorded 
him. There were disappointments, however, as 
the chief nobles in the Netherlands were not 
allowed to grace his wedding, finally appointed for 
Leipsic instead of Dresden. 

The Prynse of Orange is departyd for Docheland 
to be maryed to the daughter of Duke Marysse with a 
small company [writes an Englishman]. For whereas 
he thought to have had dyvers nobellmen of thys 
countrie with him there ys commandment given by 
the King that no man in all thys Lowe Countrie bearing 
any oftys shall go with him on payne of losing his 
offys and the King's displeasure besydes with ex- 
presse words because they shall not be infected with 
any of the heresies that are rife in that countrie. 
What matter it ys thought that the Duchess will not 
take in good part; which in the end may fall out ill: 
for the Prynse is now waxing grette by this marriage 
and presently his oflyssers do sell most of the land 
that he hath in thys country. 1 

The bridegroom's German friends and kinsmen 
made up in number for the enforced absence of 
official colleagues. The Elector's list of guests 2 
mentions 5500 persons entertained at his expense, 
and the lists of provisions show that there was 
no scarcity. The lesser Netherland nobles who 
were free to follow their own devices came with 
ninety-three horse. Orange himself brought an 

1 Richard Clough, in Life of Sir T. Gresham, i., p. 390. 
3 Arnoldi's Historische Denkwiirdigkeiten, p. 131. 



106 William the Silent 



31560- 



escort of sixty, while another cavalcade mentioned 
as "forty nobles and courtiers of the Prince, " was 
composed of 117 horse. Naturally there were 
some regrets besides those from the Hesse family, 
— the King of Denmark, the Elector of Branden- 
burg, the Prince of Anhalt, and the Archbishop 
of Magdeburg could not come. But the wedding 
party was sufficiently large to prove the import- 
ance of the event and to tax the resources of 
Leipsic to the utmost. Every guest was re- 
quested to bring his own cooks and butlers, table- 
ware and kitchen utensils, but all were assured 
that good cheer should be provided at the host's 
expense. The chief guests were entertained at 
dinner daily in the town-hall, the electoral resi- 
dence being under repairs, and at these banquets 
the service was furnished by a corps of gentlemen 
and noble pages who had been requested to report 
at Leipsic on August 22nd. 

Careful regulations were made for the benefit 
of the junior members of this volunteer band. 
There was a special injunction to abstain from 
drinking and from riotous conduct of every nature 
while the state dinners were in progress. "It 
would be a shameful impropriety if the foreign 
quality when at table found themselves unable 
to hear their own voices on account of the scream- 
ing of the attendants," seems an incontrovertible 
statement. Other precautions were taken, too, to 
ensure safety. Eight extra constables were sworn 
in to aid the two policemen in ordinary. A 



1561] The Second Marriage 107 

special force of fifty arquebusiers was provided 
for the town-hall, and a burgher guard of six 
hundred was distributed throughout the city to 
watch for fire. 

The Elector, accompanied by four thousand 
followers, met the bridegroom outside the city, and 
the whole party — almost a royal cavalcade — 
rode in pompous procession to the town-hall, 
where Anne stood at the top of the staircase to 
greet her future spouse, and then she retired 
with her women to be arrayed for the nuptial 
ceremony. 

That was to take place at five o'clock. Just 
before the appointed hour, the bridal pair together 
with the Elector and his wife, John of Nassau and 
Henry of Wiltberg, Sophia von Mil tit z and the 
councillors Hans von Ponika and Ulrich Wolters- 
dorff were assembled. 1 In the presence of the 
above named witnesses and the public notary, 
Wolf Seidel, WoltersdorfT read aloud the unsigned 
document drawn up by Augustus on April 14th 
and sent to Orange by Louis, and the bridegroom 
was asked whether he would give a verbal promise 
to fulfil all the stipulations therein contained. 
They were that the Princess should be allowed to 
read evangelical books, and receive communion 
across the frontier and in her chamber in case of 
imminent death. The Prince answered : ' l Gracious 
Elector: I remember this document and all the 

1 Preserved in Dresden archives. See Motley, i., p. 312 
et seq. 



108 William the Silent [L560- 

items read by Doctor Woltersdorff were contained 
therein. I promise your Grace herewith that I 
will keep all as becomes a prince." To enforce 
his words he gave the Elector his hand. The 
notary drew up a formal instrument containing 
this statement which was preserved in strictest 
secrecy, but undoubtedly the Elector was left free 
to mention the transaction to Philip of Hesse or to 
any of his niece's kith and kin inclined to blame 
a guardian for sending his ward into a papist 
household. Such was the end of the long-pending 
discussion. As said before, the Prince had behaved 
very diplomatically during the eighteen months 
of his international courtship. When he visited 
Dresden he went "diligently to church," — a 
procedure not without parallel in many humbler 
circles of life, if a young man were anxious to 
propitiate family prejudices for the sake of the 
girl he was wooing. It is not probable that Au- 
gustus was deceived into thinking that Orange 
was satisfying his own soul, starved in the Catholic 
atmosphere of the Netherlands by drinking in 
the discourse of the German pastor. He treated 
the matter with the Prince as between two men of 
the world. The Electress, indeed took the pains 
to write on her own behalf to the suitor to ask 
some definite assurance of what Anne's religious 
future would be. x His answer was rather flippant. 
11 There is no need of troubling a young girl with 
melancholy topics. Let her read Amadis de 
■ Bdttiger in Von Raumer's Taschenbuch, ist series, p. ioo, etc. 



1561] The Second Marriage 109 

Gaule and other romances rather than the Bible 
and learn to dance a galliard instead of sitting over 
her knitting and sewing. " Naturally, to Philip of 
Spain, Orange did not indulge in this light tone. 
He certainly gave him to understand that his 
own devotion to the ancient Church was perfect, 
and asserted that his wife should live as a Catho- 
lic, caiholically. Undoubtedly he dwelt more 
on his own unhappiness at any other state 
of affairs than was in accordance with his 
convictions. 

After the Elector had eased his conscience and 
set himself right in case of inquiry by this little 
private formality, all the guests assembled in state 
in the great chamber of the town-hall to witness 
the marriage ceremony performed by the Lutheran 
Doctor Pfefhnger. At its conclusion, comfits and 
spiced drinks were served to the newly wedded 
pair, placed together upon a magnificent gilded 
state couch, and their healths were drunk by the 
assembled company. Margrave Hans of Bran- 
denburg, speaking for the Elector, solemnly 
committed the young wife to her husband's 
charge, exhorting him to cherish her and to leave 
her undisturbed in her fidelity to the gospel and 
to the right use of the sacraments. After this 
the Prince and Princess retired to their respective 
apartments to dress for the banquet, during which 
a program of the merriest, most ingenious music 
was played, and after the tables were removed 
dancing followed. 



HO William the Silent [1560- 

On the following day at seven o'clock a pro- 
cession was formed to escort the young couple 
to the church of St. Nicholas to receive a blessing 
on the marriage already solemnised. Thus both 
ceremony and benediction followed Lutheran 
usages and there was no pretence of anything 
else. This was strictly in accordance with the 
law as it then stood in the empire. The ruler's 
theology was all dominant within his territory, 
and it was accepted that Augustus should send 
his niece away with a Lutheran blessing just as it 
was that she should consent to live "catholically " 
in the Netherlands, where King Philip was over- 
lord. 

In the three days' festival that followed, there 
was "no room for sorrow" in Leipsic. 1 Then the 
Prince and his wife started out on their homeward 
journey. The Landgrave permitted them to pass 
through his territory, but still nursed his displeasure 
sufficiently to refrain from inviting the travellers 
to come to his house. Little by little, however, 
he seems to have allowed himself to be pacified. 
In January he sends a special messenger to Breda 
bearing a gold chain for Anne and a gracious 
letter to the Prince. "A thousand good nights," 
in recognition of his gift are sent back to him 
by his granddaughter with assurance that she 
is happy as a queen and treated like one. A few 
months later comes another grandfatherly letter 
anxiously solicitous to know if Anne were true 

1 Poem on the wedding, Hague Library. 



1561] 



The Second Marriage 



III 



to the religious teachings of her father's house. 
To this she answers respectfully but in general 
terms, reiterating assurances of her complete 
contentment with her lot. x 
1 Groen., i., 118, 123. 




BEGGARS MEDAL 




SIEGE MONEY 



CHAPTER VII 

THE NOBLES AND THE CARDINAL 
I561-I564 

WHILE the future still concealed the defects 
of the Prince's much -talked -of matri- 
monial bargain, he plunged into a second contest 
where again to outward appearances he was the 
victor and again the victory carried him to a field 
that he had not surveyed. 

The Regent of the Netherlands, Margaret of 
Parma, was an industrious, painstaking person 
but far inferior to her predecessor, Marie of 
Hungary, in originality and in mental calibre. 
She was not really strong enough to stand alone 
and, though jealous of patent control, she was 
bound to be under the domination of some ener- 
getic will. Nay more, she was undoubtedly 
selected by her brother for the regency because 
he counted on this very quality of dependence. 
The person whom Philip intended to be his 
executive deputy de facto was Anthony Perrenot, 
Bishop of Arras, afterwards Cardinal Granvelle, 
and the politically minded prelate was both will- 

112 



[1561-1564] The Nobles and the Cardinal 113 

ing and able to keep in his hands all the threads 
within his reach as well as to stand behind the 
Regent's chair and dictate her actions. But 
neither he nor Philip, satisfied on his departure 
with this arrangement, took into consideration 
Margaret's own resentment of this policy as it 
ultimately manifested itself, nor the strength of 
the nobles' objections to an extraneous element 
being dominant in national councils. The double 
opposition speedily limited the extended opera- 
tions of the ambitious prime-minister. The first 
reasons for the rise of antagonism against him 
were elemental in their simplicity. No human 
beings like to be deprived of authority nominally 
vested in themselves, and such deprivation was 
the grievance of the nobles. 

As far back as 1531, Charles V. had established 
a Council of State in addition to a Privy Council 
and a Council of Finance, all three ostensibly 
designed to aid the existing Regent of the Nether- 
lands in administration during his absence. The 
Council of State was composed of the most 
prominent native nobles and was represented as 
a bulwark for national interests. It proved to 
be nothing more than a showy ornament to display 
to the people as a sign that they were not gov- 
erned by aliens; for Marie soon found that this 
new body might prove an inconvenient limitation 
to her own authority if it were permitted to stretch 
its wings. Accordingly nothing of importance 
was ever referred to it. "Councillor of State" 



114 William the Silent [1561- 

became simply an honorary title. It seemed, 
therefore, a mark of great political liberality on 
Philip's part when he evinced his intention of 
revivifying this council, and of endowing its 
members with actual power in the administration 
of public affairs. Indeed it was only under 
pledges that the change should be wrought that 
Orange, Egmont, and the others were persuaded 
to accept seats. They were assured that, instead 
of being figure-heads, they were to represent their 
respective provinces in the open discussion of 
policy and of proposed legislation, and to have 
due voice in all decisions. Philip was, moreover, 
very courteous in his request to them to support 
his sister and to aid her with their local knowledge 
and their valuable advice. But even between 
the Emperor's departure and the King's, friction 
had arisen in regard to this branch of government. 
During the brief administration of the Duke of 
Savoy, a committee of nobles, with Lalaing at 
the head, had declared to the Regent their inten- 
tion of resigning unless they were treated with 
more confidence. Their complaints seemed to 
bear fruit; some changes were made at once and 
there was a brief period when Granvelle, in his 
turn, asserted that important national interests 
were sacrificed to the nobles' procrastination. 
Then Philip gave no particular heed. His pressing 
need of funds forced him to humour those who 
might help to open the purse-strings of the Estates. 
Thus the nobles' weight went up and down in the 



1564] The Nobles and the Cardinal 115 

balance, and there were criticisms and counter 
criticisms between the King's officials and .the 
provincial functionaries. 

But after Philip was gone, little time elapsed be- 
fore it became evident that his henchmen were 
completely in the ascendant, and that Margaret 
was transacting state business much as her aunt 
had done, discussing details with three confidential 
advisers alone, Granvelle, Viglius, and Berlaymont, 
who formed an informal secret council, a camarilla 
or consulta. The titular councillors were again 
reduced to mere figure-heads. The method of 
procedure opened up a breach between the nobles 
and Granvelle. The latter was regarded as the 
chief instrument in the government concert, as 
the real factor in their discomfiture. Viglius and 
Berlaymont were rated as negligible quantities. 
It was natural enough that the native councillors 
should refuse to shoulder responsibility for decis- 
ions upon which they had never been consulted; 
yet many months passed by before the Prince's 
old friendship with the increasingly unpopular 
minister lost its outward guise. From August, 
1559, to September, 1561, amicable relations were 
ostensibly maintained between the two, although 
Granvelle' s correspondence with Philip teems 
with insidious intimations to the Prince's dis- 
credit. Orange might be loyal to King and 
Church, but he had his doubts. Iago's aside, 
nicely calculated to strike Othello's ear un- 
pleasantly, "I like not that," was exactly on a 



n6 William the Silent [1561- 

par with Gran veiled references to his former 
protege, even while he praises his general zeal. 

But after Orange was settled in Brabant, with 
his German wife not converted to Catholicism, 
entertaining his German kinsfolk openly devoted 
to Protestantism, this outward harmony vanished. 
There was no further pretence of the intimacy 
that formerly led the Prince to drop in at the 
prelate's house on his return from a journey, to 
visit him in his bedroom, and to show all the 
marks of affectionate familiarity natural from a 
younger to an older man. It was war, if not to 
the knife, at least to the point of gratuitous insult. 
The development of the Prince's character is 
shadowed by the circumstances attendant on 
this alienation with his old friend, and the main 
events affecting it must be touched on although 
the condensation necessary here renders the story 
imperfect. 

Long before the accession of Philip II., his 
father had planned a reorganisation of ecclesias- 
tical jurisdiction in the provinces. As Charles 
had erected the territory into a circle of the 
empire (1548) for better political administration, 
so he deemed it wise to bring them into a compact 
group for the more convenient ordering of all 
religious matters. Primarily this was a simple 
affair of regulating church machinery. 1 The 

1 Fruin, " Het voorspel van den tachtigjarigen oorlog." Ver- 
spreidegeschriften, I., p. 267. " De oprichting der nieuwe bis- 
dommen in Nederland in 1559." Ibid., viii., p. 298. 



1564] The Nobles and the Cardinal 117 

existing dioceses were over-large and were, more- 
over, under the ultimate authority of the German 
and French archbishops of Cologne and Rheims. 
The step was not even initiated by Charles V. 
after the Protestant revolt had so disturbed the 
ancient foundations that new props were needed 
to shore up the ancient structure. The plan had 
been conceived by the Burgundian dukes far back 
in the fifteenth century, and naturally enough. 
It was a self-evident measure in the progress of 
nationalisation. If the Netherlands were to be 
an independent circle of the Roman Empire it was 
proper that French and German archbishops 
should be deprived of power to interfere in local 
church affairs. 

On Philip's accession he lost little time in taking 
up this question and needed no instigation from 
the bishop to make him appeal to Rome for 
authority to work the changes. Granvelle, indeed, 
was not primarily in sympathy with the plan. 
He said that he preferred being one of four rather 
than of seventeen. He furthered the scheme 
only in obedience to the King's will, possibly, too, 

It is curious to note that the enumeration of the bishoprics 
is by no means a fixed and simple one. Fruin mentions four old 
sees: Cambray, Utrecht, Arras, Tournay, and fourteen in the 
new list: Arras, Tournay, St. Omer, to be comprised within the 
Walloon archbishopric of Cambray; Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, 
Ypres, Bois le Due, Roermond, within the Flemish archbishop- 
ric of Mechlin; Haarlem, Deventer, Leeuwarden, Groningen, 
Middelburg, within the archbishopric of Utrecht." 

Pirenne says — six sees originally: Liege, Tournay, Cambray, 
Arras, Terouanne, Utrecht. 



Il8 William the Silent [1561- 

being reconciled by prospect of preferment for 
himself in the proposed creation of new dignities. 
The result of the negotiations 1 was a bull issued 
by Paul IV., May, 1559, and confirmed by his suc- 
cessor in later bulls, which ordered the erection of 
three Netherland archbishoprics at Cambray, at 
Utrecht, and at Mechlin, with fourteen new sees 
under them to add to the four ancient sees hitherto 
dependent on the archbishops of Cologne and 
Rheims. This for a population of 3,000,000 people 
was not, perhaps, too large a quota, if the 
Church of Rome were still to be counted as intact, 
as alone responsible for the spiritual welfare of 
mankind irrespective of their individual proclivi- 
ties, and if the new congregations with their pro- 
testations against compulsory conformity to the 
orthodox creed were to be regarded as simply 
malignant growths on the body politic. Hence, 
though the newer heresy and its dangers were 
technically ignored, Philip's desire of multiplying 
the shepherds was, undoubtedly, coupled with the 
need of keeping a sharper outlook for schism, a 
need that also stimulated the new monarch to 
hasten on the work of reorganisation. 

1 It was long before the bulls were published. Granvelle 
writes that the delay is all due to Rome's avarice, and again 
(Feb. 7, 1561) that they will not publish the edict at Rome for 
less than 12,000 ducats and there is not sufficient money in the 
Netherland treasury even to pay a courier. Apostolic authority 
ought to be supported gratis. He adds that the Spanish troops 
have at last departed after much discomfort. It was a great 
pity they could not have been kept, but the Estates had been 
very obstinate. — Cor. de Philippe II., i., p. 193. 



1564] The Nobles and the Cardinal 119 

After the tardy publication of the bulls, a com- 
mission of five was appointed to execute their 
provisions. Granvelle and Viglius were the ex- 
ecutives de facto, and they completed the ar- 
rangements as rapidly as they could. The way 
of procedure was not smoother than that of the 
path towards the Prince's marriage, and the lines 
of the two negotiations were about contempo- 
raneous. In both, the principals were equally 
anxious to publish an achievement to the world 
without letting the public see the difficulties and 
the means of removing the same. The problem 
of providing a suitable endowment for the new 
lords spiritual was solved as follows: Certain 
abbeys and rich monastic establishments were 
to be incorporated into the new sees, certain 
ancient revenues in various localities were to be 
appropriated for the mensa episcopalis of that 
locality, and the bishops were to be the titular 
abbots of the foundations. This would imply the 
appointment by the lord bishop of deputies — 
priors or provosts — to administer monastic affairs, 
while they took the seats in the Estates assigned 
to the resident lord-abbots and enjoyed all the 
worldly advantages hitherto belonging to those 
gentlemen. It was a measure that carried with 
it a change of political equilibrium. The old 
abbots were elected by the brothers, the priors 
would be selected by the bishops, who, in their 
turn, would be the appointees of the King. This 
was regarded by the brothers as an unwelcome 



120 William the Silent [1561- 

11 novelty," but Granvelle so far supported Philip's 
policy that he argued that bishop -abbots had 
been frequent in the history of the Church. It 
was, he urged, by no means essential that the 
non-resident abbots be entirely dissevered from 
their conventual charges. It would be easy and 
helpful to the bishops to use the abbeys from 
time to time as retreats where they could take 
spiritual refreshment and come in touch with 
the brothers. 

For instance, as an example of the methods to 
be used, the old abbey of Egmont was to be 
incorporated into the new diocese of Haarlem. 
The revenues were rated at 30,000 florins. 
Deducting the expenses of the monastery and 
certain taxes, the remainder was to be considered 
henceforth as the mensa episcopalis for the bishop 
of Haarlem, who would have his deputy and his 
retreat at Egmont, while his ordinary official 
residence would be Haarlem, the headquarters 
of diocesan business. Similar adjustments were 
proposed for divers localities, all changes to 
take effect as the old abbots died off. In 
some instances, pending this release of cer- 
tain funds, Philip II. provided that Spanish 
revenue should be applied to this purpose, 1 
remarking it was only right for one church to 
help another. 

It was the incorporation of the monastic foun- 
dations into the sees together with the political 

1 Cor. de Philippe II., 1., p. 190. 



1564] The Nobles and the Cardinal 121 

questions involved in the change of representation 
in the Estates — native abbots giving way to pre- 
lates of royal nomination — that roused the first 
storm of opposition to the new bishops in the 
Netherlands. J And it must be noted that in this 

1 Granvelle states certain difficulties so clearly that a glance 
at his words is worth while. 

"The greatest difficulty in relation to the new sees will be 
to obtain their acceptance in the provinces in which they are 
situated. There are particular difficulties in Friesland and Gron- 
ingen and the city of Deventer in Over Yssel. Ruremonde can 
also be considered a doubtful quantity, considering that it is 
part of Guelderland. These territories, recently conquered, 
whose inhabitants were promised that their laws and peculiar 
customs should be protected, fancy they see in this establishment 
the introduction of a new jurisdiction. The fears are the more 
active in proportion as the remedy is needed, on account of their 
vicinity to lands infected by heresy. Moreover, the ill thinkers 
will do their best to avoid this jurisdiction, persuading the faithful 
that it ... is established to molest the entire province and 
that in suffering the first innovation soon various kinds will be 
introduced. " [Need of a firm hand on part of provincial govern- 
ors. Difficulty of permitting free discussion in the consistories 
in re the endowments of new sees and dismemberment of abbeys. 
Secret cannot be guarded, etc., etc. Serious lack of funds 
prevents needful measures.] 

"A preacher, exiled from England, lives on a boat near Ant- 
werp with his wife and his books and preaches in the conventicles. 
He may escape arrest because the Council of Holland could not 
command enough money to ensure his arrest. It is to be hoped 
that no agitation break out within or without the land. In that 
case, your Majesty may be sure that every kind of remedy would 
come too late, even if all the treasure of the Indies and Spain 
together were sent here. I do not dare dilate further on this 
subject because your Majesty is perfectly well acquainted with 
our difficulties, etc., etc. . . . Some of the nobles of this land 
are still grumbling about the erection of these sees, alleging 
that the object is to exclude from the episcopate their sons and 



122 William the Silent [1561- 

chorus of opposition there was no note of the 
reformed faith. It was a cry from the orthodox 
and the nobles. Petitions were showered upon 
the curia urging the illegality of infringing the 
ancient charters of the religious foundations. 
Envoys from the abbeys hurried down to Rome 
and waited patiently at the doors of those high in 
authority with the new Pope to beseech their 
intercession in persuading the holy father to 
revoke the edict of his predecessor. The abbots 
were aghast at the idea of the loss of political 
prestige for their foundations. The nobles sym- 
pathised with that point of view for national 
reasons, and they also had a grievance of their 
own. The bull contained a clause providing that 
no candidate for high ecclesiastical honour should 

relations in only admitting doctors, because a large number of 
people of birth, who otherwise possess all the necessary education, 
do not care to strain themselves to take the degree. They are 
answered that the condition was imposed by Paul IV. and that 
the measure had as end to incite gentlemen to study, and if there 
be some difficulties solely pertaining to the doctorate they can be 
obviated in time. It will be well to write from Spain an answer 
to the same effect because if the first appointees are doctors 
in conformity with the bull, so that the thing be established little 
by little the former course can be resumed and the opposition 
will die away. " x 

In a letter to the ambassador, Vargas, September 14, 1561, 
Granvelle writes {Papiers d' Stat, vi., p. 341): "Pardon this 
long letter, but I do not say the hundredth part of what I think. 
Would to God there had never been any idea of erecting these 
sees." 



1 Granvelle to Philip II., Jan. 5, 1561. (Papiers d'etat, vi., 
p. 240.) 



1564] The Nobles and the Cardinal 123 

be counted eligible without an university degree. 
This eminently suitable measure toward a reform 
in the quality of the clergy was deeply resented 
by the aristocracy, who had long been accustomed 
to see the younger members of noble families pro- 
vided with good incomes and convenient sinecures 
unhampered by academical requirements. To 
their mind the introduction of academic standards 
was inconvenient and unnecessary pedantry. 

The main issue was, however, the subordination 
of the independent monastic establishments to a 
higher authority which might be alien, and it was 
a severe disappointment to the Netherlanders 
that the measure was not blocked. In spite of 
special protest and general dissatisfaction, the 
bull was allowed to stand and its provisions were 
executed wherever immediate action was de- 
manded. As already said, the revised regulations 
were to bide the expiration of the life terms of all 
existing incumbents. 

As a reward for his waiving his own opinions 
the Bishop of Arras received one of the best of the 
new appointments in the royal gift. Anthony 
Perrenot was made Archbishop of Mechlin and 
his ofnce carried with it the primacy of the 
Netherlands. This new dignity was further 
crowned by a cardinal's hat obtained from the 
Pope by Margaret's exertions, so that the church- 
man, hitherto yielding social precedence to 
Orange and Egmont, was elevated over their 
heads as Cardinal Granvelle. Therein lay one 



124 William the Silent [1561- 

cause for the nobles' strenuous objections to the 
prelate's good fortune. Moreover, they attribu- 
ted to him more weight in the matter of the 
new sees than belonged to him. They did not 
know his opposition to them and to other anti- 
nationalistic measures. 

During the Prince's absence in Leipsic in 1561, 
the new Archbishop was formally installed at 
Mechlin, assumed the pompous scarlet robes of 
his office, and prepared to enjoy all its dignity. 
He was not of a nature to abrogate one jot or 
tittle of any personal privileges falling to his lot. 
There was really much that was petty and trivial 
in the dissensions and heart-burnings clouding the 
court atmosphere from 1561 to 1564. Anne of 
Saxony may be reckoned as a factor in part of it, 
but not because of her Protestant convictions or 
of high-minded religious fervour on her part. She 
was not the patient helpmate, the domestic ad- 
ministrator that the first Princess of Orange seems 
to have been. Anna of Egmont came to Brussels 
only at her lord's behest and was content with her 
station. Anne of Saxony, on the other hand, was 
attracted thither by the glamour of the life she 
had heard of. When within the magic circle she 
became very tenacious of her rights. She felt that 
much was owed her personally as being the great 
Elector's daughter. So in the midst of the inci- 
dents of court life, her naturally discontented and 
ill-regulated nature was always on the alert to 
be sure that due recognition was accorded her. 




ANNE OF SAXONY 
PRINCESS OF ORANGE 



1564] The Nobles and the Cardinal 125 

The very first time she went to wait on the Regent, 
she was indignant at not being received instantly, 
and after that her suspicion was ever ready to 
be aroused by fancied slights, and her small 
nature betrayed itself constantly. The Countess 
of Egmont and she had various tiffs about pre- 
cedence, and occasionally the two ladies squeezed 
through a narrow door side by side rather than 
yield the one to the other. With this watchful- 
ness, undoubtedly Anne also had her fling about 
the insolence of the Franche-Comte priest in 
pushing himself before the Prince of Orange, the 
husband of the great Elector's daughter. Her 
own Protestantism was not profound, nor was 
her religion, but this was probably a point on 
which her conviction was quite clear. Legitimate 
reasons certainly existed in abundance to justify 
the nobles' efforts to dislodge Granvelle, but there 
can be little doubt that there was a small side to 
the quarrel. 

At the same time the Cardinal's manner of life 
was such as to justify criticism. Nor were his 
extravagances confined to ecclesiastical pomp. 
He amused himself as a self-indulgent worldling, 
and he permitted the continuance of many of the 
flagrant abuses within the Church that had led in 
the first instance to the great Protestant revolt. 
Provost Morillon, Granvelle' s creature and de- 
voted adherent, was called the double ABC, 
because he had more benefices than there 
were letters in the alphabet, and he was not 



126 William the Silent [1561- 

the only prelate to enjoy far more than he 
deserved. l 

A few letters may serve to show what was 
demanding the Prince's attention in various 
directions during the three years 1561-64. 

On November 2, 1561 , Orange writes to Pius IV., 
who has sent him piteous plaints about the 
Protestants in his little principality. 2 It is ad- 
dressed, Beatissime pater post sanctorum pedum 
os cula, and contains the express assurance that 
the writer is in sympathy with the papal admoni- 
tions and that there is nothing he desires so 
fervently as to be obedient to them. 

Indeed I could wish that the heretical pest which 
crept into Orange from France, taking me unawares, 
could be removed with the same facility with which 
it entered. ... I have written to the officers of my 
principality and have ordered that they, in my be- 
half, protect, in the churches of my principality, the 
doctrine of our orthodox and catholic religion as we 
have received it from our ancestors — that it be 
taught diligently and my people kept within its 
bounds. All those acting contrary to this order and 
teaching otherwise, either openly or secretly, should 
be thrown into prison and their property confiscated 
with no respect to persons. 

Orange adds that he speaks on the basis of 
"my Catholic faith which alone I have always 
observed and cherished." 

1 Cor. de Philippe II. , i., p. 320. 

2 Groen, i., p. 169. 



1564] The Nobles and the Cardinal 127 

These plain and unequivocal phrases do not 
chime in well with the Prince's attitude toward 
a new university founded a few months later by- 
Philip at Douay, 1 one intended "to do away with 
the need for students to go abroad, notably to 
learn French." The Brabancons grumbled about 
it and the Prince of Orange remarked that papal 
seminaries ought not to be established in the 
province. Possibly he only wanted to please the 
Estates of Brabant, not desirous of seeing a rival 
to Louvain. 

If the old Landgrave, watching European 
politics from his fireside in Hesse, heard of the 
interchange of friendly letters between the Pope 
and his grandson-in-law, no wonder that he felt 
concerned about Anne. 

Friendly dear daughter [he writes], ... we can- 
not refrain from asking how your health is and whether 
you are steadfast in the religion in which you have 
been educated. . . . Zapffenburg, January nth. 2 

Her answer is prompt but hardly satisfactory 
to the old man. 

Dear sir father : I am grateful to your Excellency 
for your friendly greeting sent by your councillor. 
... If I can serve your Grace in any way I gladly 
will do so and so would my dear master. As regards 
religion I will bear myself so that I can defend my- 

1 Groen, i., p. 138. Granvelle, Papier s d'etat, vi., p. 503. The 
King thought that a number of universities might be founded in 
the Netherland cities to good advantage. 

2 Groen, i., p. 123. 



128 William the Silent [1561- 

self to the Almighty and to the world. Your Grace 
need not doubt that. Herewith I wish to your 
Grace and to your sons all good fortune, etc. 1 

The young wife evidently desired her grand- 
father to understand that marriage had given her 
her majority and that she was not accountable 
to her German kinsmen. He is not content 
with her vague assertions and writes again to 
\ suggest that if she fails to hear a weekly sermon 
and to be diligent in reading pious books, the 
wiles of Satan might turn her from godly truth, 
or at least dim her vision. 

In response Anne begs her grandfather not to 
doubt her devotion to the Christian religion, con- 
cerning which she has incurred no criticism. She 
closes with assurances that her husband's treat- 
ment leaves nothing to be wished for. When her 
first baby is born, the Prince is away at Frank- 
fort assisting at the election of the King of the 
Romans. All responsibility falls upon Gaspar 
Schetz and his wife. Although the latter feels 
that it is an honour beyond her rank she takes 
upon herself to see the poor little mortal baptised 
with Catholic rites by the cure of Ste. Gudule 
before the feeble life flickered out. 2 

Another family interest that appears in various 

1 Groen, i., p. 124. 

2 Ibid., p. 139. Cor. de Philippe II., i., p. 22. Philip had 
been much preoccupied about the birth of this baby, anxious lest 
Orange should make the baptism a grand affair. The King 
orders the Regent to forbid invitations to the electors of Saxony 
and Brandenburg. 



1564] The Nobles and the Cardinal 129 

letters of this epoch is the question of Count Louis's 
marriage. There is a certain Mile, de Rytberg 
who seems like a desirable partie. Louis dis- 
cusses the plan in a letter to the Prince 1 (January 
20, 1563), and then slips in a little picture of old 
Philip of Hesse, ever anxious to keep in touch with 
the world which is closing around him. 

The young landgrave has written to me more than 
three times, begging me to mention the post [estab-- 
lished by the landgrave] to you ... he also wants me 
to beg you to write oftener to his father — once a 
week at least — even if you have no news. The old 
man said, "Methinks I put in that post for nothing. 
They are slow to write to me." Could not you send 
him Italian news if there is nothing from France ? . . . 
Orders ought to be given at Cologne about forward- 
ing letters to Brunswick. Messengers are dear at 
Cologne. It makes me quite ill, Monsieur, when I 
read about your daily enjoyment of falconry at the 
thought that I cannot be with you. I am hasten- 
ing to come as soon as possible. We have little 
enough pastime here; we rise before six o'clock to 
work before and after dinner. I trust that you will 
accustom me so well to work that you will be better 
served in everything that you desire to entrust to me 
and I will spare no pains. . . . 

Louis de Nassau. 

Dillenburg, January 20th. 

Then comes a postscript delightfully char- 
acteristic of Nassau prudence, ever anxious_to 
make friends. 

1 Groen, i., p. 145. 
9 



130 William the Silent [1561- 

A gentleman of the Emperor's bedchamber is on his 
way to Brussels. You supped with him once in his 
lodgings at Frankfort. It would be worth while to 
show him courtesy as the Emperor is very fond of 
him. He wants to see everything in the Nether- 
lands, in which you can surely help him. The Em- 
peror spoke very warmly of him to me. 

The Nassau financial embarrassments were 
many and complicated. March 10th 1 finds Louis 
still regretting that he cannot get off to the Nether- 
lands. The debts amount to 300,000 florins and 
had they not been taken in hand just then, they 
might have augmented so as to burden the estate 
for fifty years. It was serious enough as it was. 
Some of the Nassau employees were completely 
discouraged at the prospect and had asked for dis- 
missal because they thought there were no chances 
of improvement. "What words these were for 
me to hear, you can imagine." The brothers 
spared themselves no pains and their exertions 
were rewarded inasmuch as they reduced the debt 
by 60,000 florins before Whitsuntide. Thus far 
the letter was in French, then Louis drops into 
familiar German. 

I see little amusement in prospect. We meet at 
five o'clock every morning except Sunday, and we 
certainly still have three weeks' work before us and 
then I will be free to assist your Excellency as far as 
I can with my very ordinary capacity and the aid of 
God. 

1 Groen, i., p. 149. 




BEGGARS' MtDAL 



1564] The Nobles and the Cardinal 13 1 

Meanwhile in the Netherlands the quarrel with 
Granvelle became more and more bitter. The 
nobles despatched Baron Montigny to Spain to 
explain the state of public opinion to Philip and to 
urge him to come north and take matters into 
his own hands. The messenger was pleasantly 
received by the Spanish King, but obtained no 
satisfaction whatsoever in regard to his errand. 
Finally on March nth a decisive step was taken 
in the Netherlands. Orange, Egmont, and Home 
joined in writing a clear statement to the King 
setting forth their grievances specifically in terms 
as plain and unvarnished as epistolary etiquette 
permitted. x Painful as their duty is they cannot 
feel justified in keeping silent about Granvelle's 
mismanagement which is alienating the hearts of 
Philip's faithful subjects. They assure Philip 
that not only his royal interests but those of 
religion are endangered. "And lest your Majesty 
may be inclined to think that we make this remon- 
strance for our personal advantage, we request 
to be dismissed from the Council of State where we 
deem our presence useless." 

The sentiment here expressed, that a stern 
sense of their obligation forced the nobles to 
open the King's eyes, is curiously echoed by Gran- 
velle in a letter that followed close on the heels 
of the above on its way to Spain. On March 
1 2th the Cardinal writes that he feels in duty 

1 Cor., ii., p. 35. 



132 William the Silent [1561- 

bound to inform Philip of his dissatisfaction at 
the state of affairs. J Should vassals of the King 
make secret league against their sovereign? Pos- 
sibly Philip did not think it important, but it 
vexed him to see his master's authority ignored 
as it was daily. Would it not be the part of wis- 
dom to appoint the Netherland nobles to good 
posts in Italy or Spain? Sicily would be an 
excellent field for the Prince's activities if the Duke 
of Medina Cceli could be transferred elsewhere to 
make room for Orange. 

Never were cleverer letters penned than those 
of Granvelle, none better calculated to breed a 
deep-seated distrust in such a mind as Philip's — 
a distrust which no argument or reassurance could 
ever eradicate. 2 For a time the Regent espoused 
Granvelle's cause. 

Cardinal Granvelle [she wrote to her brother] is de- 
voted to your Majesty's service. I am glad to give 
him perfect confidence for he is too sharpsighted not 
to give me the best advice. I cannot say the same of 

1 Granvelle, Papier s d'etat, vi., p. 528. 

2 For instance he writes (May 13, 1562, ibid., vi., p. 551): 
"As to the Prince of Orange, I do not assert that he is ruined 
in religion, as I have heard nothing exactly to justify such 
an opinion, but I do not see that he is much concerned about 
instructing his wife in the doctrines of the Catholic Church. 
The prince's brothers and sisters living under his roof, and some 
of the brothers of Count Schwarzburg, who hardly ever leave 
him, form his usual society and I fear the effect of such associa- 
tions. Certain persons report that he means to send Count 
Louis ... to Burgundy as governor. ... A step sufficient 
to imperil the cause of religion there." 



1564] The Nobles and the Cardinal 133 

the Prince of Orange and Count Egmont, for they are 
incited by ambition. They have their own interests 
in view and only want to satisfy their passions and 
give vent to their personal hate for Granvelle. 

And further she says : 

I cannot conceal from your Majesty that it lies 
little in our interest nor does it become our honour to 
have every one informed of everything that happens, 
and if the dangers and anxiety in which I am sus- 
pended came to the ears of certain persons, they would 
assuredly make capital of them for their own advan- 
tage and to the injury of state and empire. . . I write 
all this to you to prove that if they [Orange and Eg- 
mont] were entrusted with state secrets it could 
easily happen that they would use their knowledge 
to cross our intentions and to cause the most import- 
ant enterprises to fail. . . . Give me your opinion on 
all these items and I will do my best to act according 
to your Majesty's wish. x 

On the very same March day that Granvelle' s 
letter was despatched to Spain, Louis, still at 
Dillenburg, writes as follows to the Landgrave: 2 

... That the inquisition in Spain should be re- 
formed would be more than a good thing. For with 
its rascality and hideous tyranny it has sinned far 
more against God than France. The Count of Feria 
is an excellent man for the purpose [reform] for as he 
is entrusted with all the king's secrets and has a quick 

1 Cor. de Philippe II., i., p. 258 et passim. 

2 Cor. de Lodewijk van Nassau, Blok, p. 6. 



134 William the Silent [i56i- 

mind, he could take up the matter prudently. May 
the Almighty prosper him. The Netherlands are in 
the same state as they were; I think that there may 
be outbreaks soon. 

It was long before Louis was released from the 
drudgery of the business at Dillenburg and was 
free to join his brother in Brabant, but wherever 
he was, his brother was always sure of his interest 
in his affairs. 

It was marvellously inconvenient that the Jew failed 
us with the 20,000 florins [writes Orange to Louis] for 
the reason you know. I sent my German secretary at 
once to the said Jew to see if he would not waive his 
condition that my brother John and the rest of you 
should give him a mortgage on a certain estate, 
making the subjects and officers swear to let it be 
executed in default of payment. * 

The Jew was as stiff as Shylock and the pressing 
need of funds necessitated compliance with the 
usurer's exactions. 

Certainly the conditions are hard [writes the Prince 
to Louis in November] and I am sorry enough to put 
you to inconvenience on my account, but the times 
are such that one must make use of friends. Of this 
thing I can assure you that I will take care you do not 
suffer damage or annoyance, for I do not intend that 
the mortgage shall run over a year as the terms are so 
hard. I have reason to hope that I can soon recover 

1 Groen, Archives, i., p. 173. 



1564] The Nobles and the Cardinal 135 

a good sum of money. I will not say much about 
thanks, either to you or John, for your great kind- 
ness in giving me this bond. Between brothers 
there is no need of compliments, especially as I am 
sure that you know how glad I shall be to serve you 
when I can. 1 

After referring to a summons to Brussels to 
meet the States-General and to the trouble in 
Orange, he adds: "We celebrated St. Martin's 
here very jovially, for there was good company. 
Mons. de Brederode was like to die one day but 
he is better now. . ." 

The meeting mentioned above took place in- 
formally; the Cardinal was present but hurried 
off to Mechlin on the same day, while Aerschot 
held himself aloof from his peers, paid no visits, 
and departed without leave-taking as though the 
nobles had the pestilence and might contaminate 
him. So says an anonymous despatch which 
continues : 

happy are the poor inspirit, propter ipsius affirmare 
ht negare nihil mutatur rerum natura. Berlaymont 
says nothing and goes round like a cat around the 
porridge. Aremberg sticks close to his precious 
cardinal and yet will not let himself be convinced 
by him nor by the others and is a free lance. 2 

Louis, when in the Netherlands, makes constant 

1 Groen, Archives, i., p. 184. 

2 Nova sent anonymously Dec. II, 1563, to Louis. Cor. 
de Lodewijk van Nassau, p. 21. 



136 William the Silent [1561- 

reports to the Landgrave, sometimes desiring 
the letter to be burned and again wishing it to be 
sent to other Germans. His epistles are always 
lively, often incautious. Gradually two younger 
Nassau brothers, Adolph and Henry, come to the 
fore, the first humbly anxious to be admitted to 
some service under the Prince for which he is old 
enough, while the latter is still writing stiff letters 
from the University of Louvain under a tutor's 
direction. The second brother, John, writes very 
freely. He indulges in quaint bits of humour and 
picturesque colloquialisms such as are wholly lack- 
ing in the Prince's letters, but the style is ponderous 
and sententious. He often retails items of local 
interest to Louis, boundary quarrels, wooings, 
marriages, deaths, births, etc. He gives advice 
about Louis's own conduct and counsels him in one 
instance not to take many attendants when he goes 
to see the mother of a possible bride. She has 
lived so long as a widow that she is accustomed to 
quiet and parsimony. "You will ruin your cause 
if you don't go peaceably and will simply be told 
that the maiden is too young and not yet come to 
her understanding," etc. The writer's pen runs 
on over so many lengthy pages that it is not 
surprising that he has no time for a fair copy. x 

As to the debts [writes Orange to Louis, January, 
1564 2 ] we are still about where you left us. I am con- 

1 Cor. de Lodewijk, p. 22. 

2 Groen, i., 196. 



1564] The Nobles and the Cardinal 137 

tinually hampered in fulfilling my estate and can 
well say sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper, et in 
scecula sceculorum. I believe it is a family character- 
istic that we are bad managers in our youth but im- 
prove as we grow older like Mons. our father. My 
greatest difficulty is the falconers, although I have 
reduced them so that they only cost me 1200 florins. 
If this point were gained I would be free from debt 
but I hope, since only 1500 a year remain, that we 
really shall speedily be in better condition. When 
you come we will speak more fully. ... I wish you 
were here now just for my amusement. There is 
good company assembled to take a hand at tennis and 
falconry, to which last I am going now in this fine 
weather. 

They were undoubtedly gregarious, those noble 
Netherlander, and spared no occasion to eat, 
drink, and be merry together, and in the midst of 
the merriment they often gave vent to their 
increasing dislike of the Cardinal. In December, 
1563, one of the frequent festivities took place at 
the home of Gaspar Schetz, Seignior 1 de Grob- 
bqndonck. As the wine went round the conver- 
sation turned naturally on their bete noire and the 
epithets heaped upon him waxed in vehemence 
as the night grew older. The seigniors were 
especially severe about Granvelle's luxury and 
pomp, and it was finally suggested that they should 
show their contempt for the gorgeous array of his 

1 Schetz was Philip's financial agent and intimate with the 
Prince, as shown by his taking the initiative in the baptism of 
Anne's baby. 



138 William the Silent ci56l- 

retinue by adopting a severely simple livery for 
their own followers. Dice were thrown to deter- 
mine who should design the proposed dress, and 
the lot fell on Egmont. In a few days his designs 
were carried out and his retainers were the first 
to display the new livery, which consisted of a 
plain doublet and hose of coarse grey frieze 
with long hanging sleeves on which was embroid- 
ered an ornament described now as a fool's cap 
and bells, now as a monk's cowl. Possibly some 
liveries had one and some the other, or perhaps, 
owing to the diminutive size, the outlines were 
ill- denned. As a matter of fact this design was 
soon replaced by a bundle of arrows, typifying 
the union of the nobles in the cause. x 

Party spirit ran high and it was well known 
what were the sentiments of every person. In a 
letter of August 2nd to the Landgrave, Count 
Louis adds a postscript: 2 

1 send your princely grace a memorandum show- 
ing what nobles stick together and who are against 
the cardinal. 

Prince of Orange, stadtholder in Burgundy, Hol- 
land, Zealand, and Utrecht. 

Count of Egmont, stadtholder in Flanders and 
Artois. 

*At first Margaret thought that the nobles "had no ill in- 
tention "in adopting the livery, but the people did not understand, 
so the thing did great harm. Two thousand sleeves had already 
been made and all that she had achieved in her remonstrances 
was to have the fool's-caps removed. 

2 Cor. de Lodewijk, etc., p. 14. 



1564] The Nobles and the Cardinal 139 

Margrave of Bergen, stadtholder of Hainault. 
Count] of Mansfeld, stadtholder of Luxemburg. 
Count of Megem, stadtholder of Guelderland, Lord 
of Montigny, stadtholder of Tournay. 

Count of Hoogstraaten, member of the Order. 
Count of Lengen, member of the Order. 
There are in addition various other nobles who 
have declared themselves on this side,- notably the 
governors of the cities. 
Cardinalists : 

Duke of Aerschot. 

Margrave of Rentin. 

Count of Aremberg, stadtholder of Friesland. 

Lord of Berlaymont, stadtholder of Namur. 

Lord of Glajon. 

The opinion of the opposition is also expressed. 
The point of view of the Cardinalists was simple. 

Every time I see the despatches of these three Flem- 
ish seigniors I am moved to anger so that if I did not 
control it, your Majesty would think me a mad- 
man [wrote Alva 1 ]. They must be punished. But 
as that is not practicable now, divide them and 
separate Egmont from the others. As to those who 
are to lose their heads, it is necessary to dissemble. 

The prince is a dangerous man, astute, ruse, affect- 
ing to sustain the people and to share their interests 
even against the Estates, seeking only popular favour, 
appearing now Catholic, now Calvinist or Lutheran. 
He is capable of undertaking secretly everything that a 
vast ambition and an extreme jealousy can inspire. 
It would be well not to leave him in Flanders. He 

1 Groen, i., p. 175. 



140 William the Silent [156I- 

could be honourably withdrawn on pretext of some 
embassy or some vice-royalty. You could even call 
him to your court. The count simply lets himself 
be seduced [by the prince]. It would be easy to win 
him back by making him think that he was the 
favourite. 

As time wore on the Regent lost her boasted 
confidence in the Cardinal. She became aware 
that he was making her appear as his tool and 
she hotly resented the implication that she had no 
will of her own. Terror of the effect of the no- 
bles' disaffection seized upon her. Unless means 
were found to free the government from the 
weight of debt, the King would be left in a very 
embarrassing position. 1 He was dependent upon 
the nobles for their intercession in their various 
Estates. He did not dare alienate them. At 
the same time he was not willing openly to yield. 
He assures the nobles that he cannot consider 
any vague complaints against the Cardinal, and 
finds their action strange. 2 Yet before these 
words were read the prelate had already received 
a private letter from the King suggesting that it 
would be an excellent plan for him to visit his 
mother. 3 Margaret was advised to grant this 
request so that all might pass smoothly and 

1 Among Philip's creditors were certain German cities whose 
citizens suffered seriously. They were frequently arrested for 
the debts they had incurred in his behalf. 

2 Gachard, Cor., ii., p. 67. 

3 Cor. de Philippe II., i., p. 285. 



1564] The Nobles and the Cardinal 14 1 

naturally without giving the nobles ground for 
flattering themselves that their remonstrance had 
been effective. The secret was ill guarded and 
vague rumours were afloat in the city long before 
there was any definite knowledge of the Cardinal's 
departure. In a letter of March 5th from Orange 
to Louis occur these words: "It is a sure thing 
that our man is going. God grant that he go so 
far that he will never return." 1 

The reports caused a fresh crop of pasquinades 
and pamphlets in Brussels, and street wit ran high 
without fear of punishment, as it could not have 
done had the rumours been baseless. 2 On March 
13th, wild joy spread through the city hand in 
hand with information that Granvelle had actually 
left Brussels. 

My gracious prince has written to the Landgrave 
William [writes one Lorich, 3 the prince's secretary, to 
Count Louis] and mentioned among other things how 
it was with the Cardinal's hasty journey. When he 
received the king's order, he growled like a bear, shut 
himself up in one room for a time, and then took him- 
self off as quickly as possible. He has given out 
that he is called away on the king's business and will 
be back in two months, but many people think it 
will be two long months and like the Jew's interest 
will expire and renew themselves automatically. 

1 Orange- Nassau family archives. 

2 In February Granvelle uses the phrase to Philip, "this 
wicked beast, the people." Cor. de Ph. II., i., 290. 

3 Groen, i., p. 228. The writer was a confidential secretary 
of Orange and in charge of young Henry of Nassau at Louvain. 



I42 William the Silent [1561- 

Immediately after the Cardinal's departure the re- 
gent requested the seigniors to come again to the 
Council and they agreed but with the understanding 
that should the Cardinal return they would again 
absent themselves. There is universal surprise at 
the sudden move and a certain suspicion that it is a 
mere blind. It will be well for the seigniors to look to 
their defence so that they may not be taken unawares. 
Otherwise it is quiet here . . . and everything stands 
in a good peaceful fashion and every one is satisfied 
now that the Cardinal is out from under their feet. 

The party of the opposition had triumphed 
and their triumph proved to have firmer basis 
than they had dared to hope. Never again did 
Granvelle set foot within the Netherland province. 
Naturally the nobles were elated at their victory, 
but it must be conceded that local and personal 
jealousy played a larger part in the whole quarrel 
than any zeal for religious toleration at this crisis. 
This was pre-eminently the case with the Prince 
of Orange. His relations to Protestantism in 
his own principality already mentioned show it. 
And, perhaps, nothing reveals his character, as it 
then was, better than his attitude towards the edu- 
cation and career of his youngest brother, Henry. 
He regarded the Established Church as something 
into which it was perfectly legitimate for a man 
with Protestant leanings to enter for the sake of an 
assured income, and, once in possession of a post, 
to steer deftly between difficulties of theological 
opinions without a qualm of conscience. The 



1564] The Nobles and the Cardinal 143 

elder brother endeavoured to procure a fat benefice 
for the younger, a dignity as high as the bishopric 
of Liege being mentioned in that connection, and 
he felt perfectly justified in so doing. This easy- 
going standard was not, however, acceptable to 
Henry's other guardians, in spite of their loving 
devotion to the man adopting it. Juliana and 
John of Nassau were genuinely alarmed lest 
Henry should be perverted. They were appre- 
hensive about the influence of Louvain teaching 
upon the home-nurtured lad and endeavoured to 
keep him from contact with the rites they con- 
sidered idolatrous. 

In reply to some such suggestion, Lorich writes 
to Count Louis that it would be impossible for 
the lad to study at Louvain if he did not attend 
mass, and that the Prince had desired him to be 
diligent in all formal church observances. But 
Orange evidently is not able to direct the boy's 
course exactly as he desired. Home prejudices 
have to be considered. In August, 1565, he writes 
to Count Louis: 1 

I am vexed about Henry and am not at all satis- 
fied with the plan made by my mother and brother. 
It is not suitable to send him to France on account of 
other reasons than " Hueguenotterie. " Nor am I 
better pleased at the idea of his going direct from 
Germany to Italy with a German gentleman who has 
been with the Count Palatine and his son. Believe 
me by such measures we will lose every chance of 

1 Groen, i., p. 417. Henry had returned to Dillenburg. 



144 William the Silent [1561- 

obtaining advantageous offices or dignities for him. 
There is already talk about it and those who were 
willing to help him draw back suspicious that we are 
going to let him be educated in the other religion. I 
enclose a passage from a letter from the Bishop of 
Utrecht showing how this rumour has spread. There- 
fore I advise that he shall be sent here for four or 
five months and go to Italy from here with some 
suitable gentleman. By that time too, everything will 
be clearer. 

There is another opening, too, and I think if God 
is willing to help us we ought to help ourselves. 
Count William of Schatienburg . . . out of affec- 
tion to us and especially to me, offers to make Henry 
coadjutor in his provostship of Hildesheim. This 
is a place a count can honestly hold and be free from 
obligation. He can do as he wishes in regard to 
religion, provided a little discretion be shown and no 
constraint be exercised over the people. He [Count 
William] thinks, too, that the brother of Count Konigs- 
tein, Count Christopher, provost of Halberstadt, would 
also make my brother coadjutor. This provostship 
yields sufficient to support twenty horse with their 
equipment and the places [the two provostships] are 
only five leagues apart. Since such gifts are within 
our grasp we ought not to sleep but to follow up the 
matter. It will be necessary to have the pope's con- 
sent and that can only be asked if my brother be here. 
Otherwise it is labour lost. 

I only suggest this for a time — say for five or six 
months, so that you can lend a hand to sending him 
for that time. Repeat all this to my brother so that 
he can speak as if at his own instance to Mme. my 
mother about her brother's provostship, advising her 



1564] The Nobles and the Cardinal 145 

to sound her brother about nominating my brother 
Henry as his coadjutor. I do not doubt that she will 
approve for she must know that her brother has no 
trouble in living as he pleases. I told Count Schauen- 
burg that he should have my decision in three weeks. 
... I send you a letter from the governor of 
Orange, which I opened, thinking it might contain 
more details than mine but it is all one. You see 
what is going on. I wish that we could exchange it 
[Orange] for Enghien, retaining name and arms. For 
I see no prospect of being clear. The King of France 
has made some overtures towards me through his res- 
ident ambassador. ... I will tell you everything on 
your coming, which I beg you to hasten as speedily 
as your health permits. 

It is evident that the Prince's attitude towards 
the Catholic Church and its faithful adherents is 
still that of an opportunist. He is frankly dis- 
appointed that his mother's objections prevent 
his executing his plans for Henry. He is per- 
fectly willing to place his young daughter in the 
Regent's court as maid of honour (July, 1565), 
and he is still far from any desire to separate 
violently his interests from the court and its 
opinion. His course of action, his opinions were, 
moreover, in line with those of the majority of 
the nobles. As said before, they were mainly 
conformists. There was no such party of de- 
clared Protestants as that of Coligny in France. 
There was still a deep cleft between the Nether- 
landers of the ruling class and the people, stirred 
heart and soul by the reformed religious ideas. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE GROWTH OF POPULAR DISCONTENT 
1 564-1 566 

IN 1564 the nobles were fairly satisfied with the 
prospect they saw before them of exercising 
a degree of home rule and of local autonomy. 
They brought their families to Brussels and 
exerted themselves to obtain certain amendments 
in the administration, confident that they were 
supporting, not opposing the Regent. Orange had 
three important measures at heart. The first two 
were the assembly of the States-General and the 
augmentation of the powers of the Council of 
State. 1 He urged that this latter should be the 
chief of all councils. He had a clear conception of 
an executive cabinet government, the responsibil- 
ity resting on Netherlanders, mere ratification be- 
ing expected from Regent and King. Thirdly, he 
demanded a modification of the edicts concerning 
religious conformity. The question of persecu- 
tion of Protestants comes, therefore, definitely 

1 The grievances on this point are fully set forth in the Justifi- 
cation (1568). Lacroix, Apologie de Guillaume de Nassau, Justifi- 
cation, etc. 

146 



1564-1566] Growth of Popular Discontent 147 

to the fore, as it had not done hitherto. It is 
really only in the light of later events that it 
appears as a dominant element in the early active 
opposition to the institution of the new episcopal 
sees and to Cardinal Granvelle. 1 

After 1564, when the appointment of local 
inquisitors followed the erection of the new 
bishoprics, then freedom of conscience became, 
indeed, an issue. The edicts contained in the 
placards referred to were framed under and 
issued by Charles V. in the early years of the 
Protestant Revolt. Designed to check anarchy 
within the Church, they contained stringent 
requirements of conformity, provided methods of 
investigating individual opinions, and set penal- 
ties for any form of heterodoxy or any ten- 
dency towards the adoption of tenets stamped as 
heretical by Rome. There had been spasmodic 
waves of conviction for heresy and a few exe- 
cutions during the Emperor's time. But that 
monarch's connection with Germany was such 
that political motives restrained him from any 
widespread attacks upon the new sects ; moreover 
in his contracts with German mercenaries he was 
obliged to agree to concessions for the Protestant 
troops. The Regent's Erasmian tendencies also 
had a subduing effect on over- zealous inclinations 
on the part of Netherland officials, and the edicts 
remained inoperative, mere dead letters, except 

1 There is similarity between its political status and that of 
slavery in the United States before i860. 



148 William the Silent [1564- 

where some isolated magistrate was roused to 
enforce them, either from real devotion to the 
Church or because they offered convenient tools 
to his hand for personal revenge. In the King's 
reorganisation of the ecclesiastical machinery in 
the Netherlands, Philip was, undoubtedly, anxious 
to increase the number of eyes watching for the 
infringement of these long-existing laws which he 
was fully resolved should henceforth make them- 
selves felt, but the intention was not immediately 
revealed in the general plan of the new sees. 

For many years, orthodox people of Erasmian 
proclivities, indifferent to minor doctrinal points, 
but placidly convinced that a state church was a 
wise and needful institution, hoped for good 
results from the ecclesiastical council sitting at 
Trent, and engaged in deciding upon and sifting 
out the fundamental truths of orthodox faith. 
The sessions of this council, convened for the first 
time in 1545, had been broken and intermittent, 
and it was not until December, 1563, that their 
labours ended and their conclusions, pronounced 
infallible in advance, were published to the world. x 

* In France the end of the Trent deliberations had been looked 
for anxiously. The political situation there was serious. In 
1562 the Protestants, already known as Huguenots, were a 
formidable element that could not be ignored. During the 
minority of Charles IX. there was a constant struggle for su- 
premacy between the Catholic Guises and the Huguenot nobles 
led by Conde\ Coligny, and, for a time, by Anthony of Bourbon. 
A long letter from the Duke of Guise to the Duke of Wurtemberg 
reveals his point of view in plausible terms. Not unnaturally the 
orthodox Guise declares that the arms assumed by the "reformed 



1566] Growth of Popular Discontent 149 

The result was a blow to Erasmian ideals. No 
concession was shown to the demand of the 
Protestants, there was no bending to reform ideas. 
Orthodox tenets were fixed irrevocably, the 
doctrines concerning the sacraments reasserted 
without elasticity, and the absolute jurisdiction of 
the one Church universal over all people reaf- 
firmed. The document ended with anathema 
to all heretics, anathema, anathema. 

A definite yardstick of orthodoxy was thus 
furnished to the faithful, which Philip II. was 
rejoiced to seize upon and to have his subjects 
measured therewith, but it was not until past 
midsummer, 1564, the epoch when the Nether- 
land nobles were most hopeful in regard to ter- 
ritorial administration, that he wrote to his sister 
directing her to have the ancient placards repub- 
lished throughout the provinces and to insure civil 

must be opposed by arms to prevent the imposition of an 
intolerable yoke upon the Catholics" and "to maintain our 
religion which is that of our king, bequeathed to us by our an- 
cestors . . . the Faith in which we were baptised and nur- 
tured and to which we conscientiously adhere. In all places 
where they [the Huguenots] have been stronger they have so 
ruined our churches as to deprive us of the means of worshipping 
God. ... To counteract this we have tried to replace all 
officials not holding the Faith by others above suspicion. . . . 
Such is the obstinacy and malice of men that it is easier to long 
for unity and reform in the Church than to see that longing 
realised. However I am not ready to lose hope that some day 
God will evince his pity and give us by means of His good and 
legitimate council some alleviation to the ills we suffer," etc. 
Documents inedits relatifs cL Vhist. du XVI. Steele, Kervyn de 
Lettenhove, i., p. 3. 



15° William the Silent [1564- 

support of Church officers in their inquiry into 
individual consciences. 

It must again be remembered that to attain the 
desired end, Philip needed not one iota of fresh 
legislation. He simply took the occasion of the 
Church's own decision, made by her Council of 
Trent, as to orthodoxy, to declare his purpose of 
reviving statutes long existing and continuously 
ignored. The King was not left in ignorance of the 
difficulty to be expected in executing his orders. 
The Duchess of Parma explained to him in pains- 
taking phrases that non- conformity was terribly 
widespread and deeply rooted and that whole 
villages could not be penalised without ruin to the 
population, to commerce, and to the fisheries. 
She implored her brother to come to the Nether- 
lands and see the situation for himself, and the 
nobles added their entreaties to hers, assuring the 
King that literal obedience to his orders was 
beyond their capacity. x 

Among Philip's officials there were, naturally, 
some of Granvelle's friends, who thought that the 
nobles were taking too much on themselves. 

They are clamouring for a council [writes Viglius 
to the Cardinal] which will have sovereign superin- 
tendence of everything. I do not see how this could 
be consistent with the authority of Mme. the Regent, 
or whether, indeed, his Majesty himself would not 
be restrained by it. . . . Certainly I have no desire 
to belong to the new regime. ... [I believe] they 

1 Cor. de Philippe II., i., p. 326 et passim. 



1566] Growth of Popular Discontent 151 

will go far, as she who has the most at stake vol- 
untarily seconds those ill advisers and there is not 
the slightest hope of the king's coming. . . . The 
bishop and others convened here to consider the 
question of religion have decided very wisely to my 
mind. I 

The decision referred to was an important stage 
in the course of events. The nobles had cher- 
ished a hope that the Netherland theologians ap- 
pointed to discuss the decrees of the Council of 
Trent would take local conditions into considera- 
tion and would recommend a decided moderation 
in the edicts for the territory of their jurisdiction. 
The divines gave much time to the matter, while 
the nobles watched their proceedings with the 
keenest interest. "I fancy affairs are not in such 
a state as to leave you much leisure for plea- 
sure walks," writes Brederode to Orange. Un- 
doubtedly the Prince foresaw the probable brief 
duration of the nobles' satisfaction and did not 
relax his vigilance. At this time Louis of Nassau 
was at Spa recuperating from an illness, though 
probably he was not in a serious condition, as may 
be inferred from a note of Brederode' s written 
with delightful indifference to any standard of 
spelling. 2 

1 Cor. de Philippe, i., p. 360. Cor. de Granvelle, i., p. 26. It 
is worth noting that Viglius himself was accused of intercourse 
with heretics. 

2 Groen, i., p. 397. Count Henry Brederode was a pictur- 
esque character. Descended from the ancient Counts of Holland 
he retained many of the lawless traits of his ancestors. Groen 



152 William the Silent U564- 

I should have more confidence in good wine help- 
ing you than the springs. At least I am convinced 
that if I had given up wine in my last illness here 
among these abominable dykes, I should have 
quitted my bones too, for I assure you I never was so 
near it. I rather think I was not good enough to die 
and that the good God would not have known what 
to do with me, which is why I do not worry about you. 
Take care not to drink too much water. That is the 
way people drown. 

To Louis the Prince suggests that the enforced 
leisure of semi-invalidism might be made useful 
by talking over the "affairs we were speaking 
of" with the Marquis de Bergues and other 
fellow- visitors at the springs. J It is phrases like 
the above that force the conviction that Orange 
was very wary in relation to his brother at the 
time. There was evidently no want of confidence 
between them ; but the elder was more than willing 
not to be informed of all the projects in which 
the younger was involved. He gives him cautions 
and then lets him go his own way. 

As to writing to George von Holl [Orange to Louis], 
J would not do it. The fewer letters to strangers on 
such matters the better. Even if they are at present 

rates him as a mere drunken roysterer and boon companion of 
better men. Bakhuizen van den Brink gives him greater 
credit. 

1 Spa was often used as a convenient neutral ground as other 
watering places have been since. Granvelle mentions Egmont's 
presence there to Philip: "As he is reported perfectly well, pro- 
bably he has altras cosas on hand." 



1566] Growth of Popular Discontent 153 

friends, after their death, letters may fall into the 
hands of those who would try to make capital from 
them. r 

For five months Margaret of Parma was left in 
doubt as to whether Philip II. was going to yield 
to her persuasions and refrain from forcing the 
oppressive edicts of the Council of Trent upon 
the Netherlanders, dissenters and faithful alike. 
Meantime, the Regent's son, Alexander Farnese, 
was preparing to be married to Maria of Portugal 
at his mother's court in Brussels. In the very 
midst of the magnificent wedding festivities a 
royal courier arrived from Spain with despatches 

1 Groen, i., p. 398. Egmont went to Spain in the winter of 
1565 to plead with Philip about the enforcement of the edict. 
His mission with its hopes and disappointments is not described 
here. The Count returned to Brussels in April reporting that 
Philip was ready to meet the wishes of the nobles. When he 
was proved wrong then "began the old song" (Cor. de Philippe II., 
i-.pP- 355, 385, etc) Margaret's instructions to Egmont contained 
the following passage (Cor. de Marguerite, iii., p. 544): "There 
are daily reports that people from Valenciennes, Tournay, and 
neighbouring places desert their homes and go to France and 
other countries of the new religion, transporting their business 
and manufactures with them, together with their property, mer- 
chandise, and riches, and that others will follow, preferring 
emigration to being burned or otherwise publicly executed. 
There are quarters where the Anabaptists are very numerous, 
especially in North Holland, Friesland, and elsewhere, and there 
are a great number of Calvinists, especially in lower Flanders, 
and in addition there is a great infection of Lutheranism and 
their hangers-on [sequaces], and others, vacillating in the Cath- 
olic faith and cold to holy traditions and to ceremonies of 
the Church, hating priests, monks, and ecclesiastics. And the 
magistrates will not enforce the placards." 



154 William the Silent [1564- 

for Margaret. Philip's orders were plain and 
unequivocal. His sister was to pay no attention 
whatsoever to popular remonstrance. The pre- 
valence of heresy was no reason why it should be 
respected, and she was, therefore, to enforce every 
regulation regarding conformity to the Catholic 
Church. The decrees of the Church were to be 
scrupulously maintained. 

Margaret was terribly disconcerted by the or- 
ders, but did not reveal the cause of her depres- 
sion until a council meeting in December, when 
the despatches were read. After a few minutes 
of silence the discussion began. Viglius advised 
a fresh appeal to Philip with a further explanation 
of the unpopularity of the proposed measures. 
The Prince of Orange took a different point of 
view. He declared that any further application 
to the King was futile. His Majesty had been 
fully informed and his commands were perfectly 
plain. It would now be wise to execute the orders 
promptly and to have the placards posted in every 
market-place. And his motion to this effect was 
carried. After its acceptance by the other coun- 
cillors, Orange whispered to one, who reported it 
later, "Now we shall see the beginning of a fine 
tragedy." z His manner was almost insolently ju- 
bilant. The incident has been made much of by 
certain Catholic writers as indicative of a kind of 

1 "Hac conclusione accepta princeps Auriacensis cuidem in 
aurem dixit, qui post id retulit, quasi laetus gloria bundusque; 
visuros nos brevi egregiag tragedise initium." Vita Viglii, p. 45. 



1566] Growth of Popular Discontent 155 

Satanic quality in the Prince's mind, as though he 
were ready to exult over a hideous prospect whose 
possibilities he perfectly grasped. Surely another 
meaning may be read into the incident. All the 
representations made to Philip had been vain. 
Now if he persisted in ignoring the mighty 
strength of the Protestant movement, the Prince 
was glad that his orders were perfectly explicit. 
Events would now take their course and the 
inevitable result would at last prove the political 
acumen of the King's advisers. 

A letter from Morillon to Granvelle 1 (December 
9th) is rilled with reports current about this par- 
ticular council meeting. The nobles drew a long 
face when the King's autograph letters in Spanish 
were read. The Duchess laid aside her embroid- 
ery, 2 rested her head on her hand, and gave all 
her attention to the discussion. ' ' No one believed 
that the King would really come," etc. 

Shortly after this, instructions were sent to pre- 
lates, to universities, and to cities providing for 
the rigorous enforcement of the ancient edicts. 
An outcry arose at once in Brabant, protesting 
that the provincial privileges were infringed by 
this order and that no inquisition could legally 
be introduced. The answer to this was that there 
was no inquisition, no novelty, nothing except 

1 Cor. de Granvelle, i M p. 44. The Cardinal is asked to "burn 
this letter." 

2 Delightful suggestion of her feminine habits, even in po- 
litical life. 



156 William the Silent [1564- 

perfectly commonplace and ordinary adherence 
to perfectly self-evident, commonplace regulations 
against anarchy in the state of God's own religion. 
It is curious to note the surprise in various letters 
of Granvelle and his informants that any one 
should think of coupling the term Spanish inquisi- 
tion with these simple, conservative measures ! 

Here they are talking of nothing else but the in- 
quisition [writes Morillon to Cardinal Granvelle, 
Feb. 10, 1566 *]. At Tournay the notice herein en- 
closed has been posted from the same shop as the 
others. It is impossible that the author of such an 
unhappy work should not be discovered. God knows 
what efforts are daily made to seduce the people 
and the part played by Montigny in it. There is 
little pleasure in many places at the creation of the 
pope but I trust that God's will was expressed. The 
four cities of Brabant petition the council that no 
inquisition shall be proclaimed there. The council 
have reduced their grievances to writing and I hear 
that the deputies of the said city are now repenting 
their action because the said council has forwarded 
the remonstrance to his Highness, without affixing 
any seal and ordinance — and I believe the answer 
will be that it is not new but that since the time of 
the late Madame Marie inquisitors general were 
appointed in Brabant and [here follows list] many cul- 
prits have been apprehended and punished. Never- 
theless it is reiterated that the inquisition has never 
been in vogue and all the blame is put on your 
Seigniorship . . . . 

1 Cor. de Granvelle, i., p. in. 



1566] Growth of Popular Discontent 157 

I told the dowager duchess that you would be the 
first to oppose the inquisition of Spain and that you 
were very zealous in guarding the privileges of the 
land, and I also pointed out that they were giving 
the name of the inquisition to the placards made by 
the late emperor and by his Majesty on the topic of 
religion in which no innovation was to be introduced. 
Simply the observation of these was to be enforced. 
To the great prejudice of religion the semi-annual 
publication of these had been omitted and they were 
never less observed than at present. . . . 

The Duke of Aerschot thinks that there is an at- 
tempt to make the king odious. He speaks very de- 
votedly of you. . . . 

... I have heard from good quarters that in the 
college of Mechlin, van der Aa, the sheriff, dared 
grumble openly at the said publication, the others did 
not agree with him. He declared that there were 
more than fifty thousand men waiting to see what was 
going to be done. I begged Weyns [Augustus Weyns, 
sheriff of Mechlin] to take notice and to mark the day 
and those who were present. 

They have commenced to take the images out of the 
churches and to roll them in the mud, with other 
insolences. When del Canto spoke of this to Mme. 
de Parma she said what would he say if the priests 
themselves did it to. bring discredit on the people? 
I believe that this suggestion came from the officer 
who ought to be more energetic in discovering the 
authors, priest or otherwise. 

If your seigniory would give me a distinct assurance 
about this point of the Spanish inquisition of which 
he [Philip] is accused, I would be glad, so that I could 
pass it around among friends. Certainly things 



I5S William the Silent [1564- 

are going ill and we are in greater danger than ap- 
pears on the surface. If there should be any ex- 
citement the poor people who are starving would ally 
themselves with the heretics and the latter would 
reap the benefit, — especially if the ecclesiastics should 
fall prey to them. I am astonished how little the 
abbes of Brabant understand the situation. They 
may easily be called on to pay the piper any day. 
As the world is now going, if I had nothing here but 
my own business I would not stay long. But I shall 
hold on to the end. 

I am sorry that you have so much furniture here 
and wish that a part were in a safer place, for I do 
not see how it could be protected if anything were to 
happen. 

This letter, too, closes with the words Lecta com- 
buratur. Curious how many letters exist bearing 
that injunction to the recipient to burn them! 

In another epistle Morillon mentions that the 
service at Mechlin was never so beautiful as at 
this moment and the music never better. 

I have heard [writes another correspondent, Pero 
Lopez, March 2d] that it was said in Count Egmont's 
presence, that these territories, fiefs of the empire, 
are at liberty to choose the religion they desire — the 
Confession of Augsburg or the Ancient Faith — and 
that they are resolved to accept the former. Verily 
sometimes I am afraid they may take us unawares by 
a coup d'etat. At the same time there is a show of 
checking the calamity and Orange has actually for- 
bidden the son of M. de Toulouse to remain on an 
estate within his jurisdiction. 



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1566] Growth of Popular Discontent 159 

That kind of thing I do not consider at all serious. 
It is done simply to deceive the king and throw him 
off his guard. How could they [the nobles] pretend 
they were expelling the wretched sacramentaries 
when they pack their houses full of them (M. d'Eg- 
mont does this more than any one else) and de 
Hames is the inspiration of all. . . . Certainly if 
his Majesty does not come soon things will take such 
a turn that he will hardly be able to come when he 
wishes, so impudent have the people become. There 
is no more question of maintaining the placards than 
if we were at Geneva. . . . 

I believe that Madame is more and more con- 
fused every day and with reason. She renders an 
ill account of her charge. 1 

I am extremely displeased that the publication of 
the edicts has been delayed [writes Granvelle 2 ]. It 
is manifest calumny that his majesty is thinking of 
introducing the Spanish inquisition. He has been 
precise on that point. I am aghast at the impudence 
of the pasquils. I had not at first understood their 
virulence, as the attacks on me were softened in the 
reports. 

To Philip, the Cardinal writes that the rumour 
of the introduction of the Spanish inquisition was a 

slander spread abroad to alienate your subjects 
from your Majesty. ... If I did not assume that 
your Majesty were already in possession of the pas- 
quils scattered by the rascals, I would send you 
what I have. ... It would be well to have Courte- 

1 Cor. de Granvelle, i., p. 139. 2 Ibid., p. 142. 



l6o William the Silent H564- 

ville translate them from Flemish into French, so as 
to enable your Majesty to see whether the course of 
events be in the interest of your Majesty or the 
reverse. 

I pardon these perverse nobles all their calumny of 
me, but I will never consent to assist them in acts pre- 
judicial to the service of God and your Majesty, even 
should they kill me. I fear that everything may be 
precipitated towards a complete disaster, etc. 

Much advice follows, always preceded by the 
deprecatory " sauf meilleur avis." Above all, 
the Cardinal is convinced that an assembly of the 
States- General without the King's presence would 
be a serious political blunder. The result might 
be (this in a postscript) that Mme. de Parma's 
government would be overthrown and a new one 
set in its place. 

It is perfectly evident from all this correspond- 
ence — and there is much more to the same 
effect — that there was a singularly clear prevision 
of the real significance of the issue on the part of 
the King's advisers — while the abundant crop of 
pasquils and caricatures springing to life in all 
Netherland cities show, too, that the populace was 
intelligent enough to take a hand in the game. 
The ephemeral literature assumed serious pro- 
portions. The anonymous writers hit out in 
every direction and no one was spared. The 
Prince of Orange was only half trusted and his 
house was often plastered over with appeals to 
him to take measures to prevent the inquisition 



1566] Growth of Popular Discontent 161 

coming to the Netherlands — appeals that often 
took the form of threats. 

In addition to these irregular and unrestrained 
efforts to direct action, an orderly combined pro- 
test known as the Compromise of Nobles came into 
being. Possibly this grew out of the conference 
at Spa, possibly it was a spontaneous movement 
not premeditated before a certain day (December 
I or 2, 1565) when some young nobles, feasting 
together with Count Culemburg as host, signed a 
paper, drafted possibly by one Francis Junius, 
possibly by Philip Marnix, Sr. of Ste. Aldegonde. 
The document was a vigorous arraignment of all 
inquisitorial measures, "bound in a land accus- 
tomed to liberty to result in a horrible confu- 
sion," followed by a pledge of mutual support 
among the subscribers to resist th° said measures. 

The original draft has only three signatures, 
Charles Mansfeld, Henry Brederode, and Louis 
of Nassau. x Several copies of this Compromise of 
the Nobles were immediately circulated through 
the province and in a brief time a thousand names 
lent their weight to its substance. 

Orange, as well as the other chief nobles, kept 
ostensibly aloof from this organised movement. 
But the Prince was not out of sympathy with it. 
He could have checked it, had he wished. Cer- 
tainly he could have kept Louis out of it. Like 
other leaders on the eve of a revolution, Orange 
was perfectly willing that his brother should go 

1 Royal archives, The Hague. 



1 62 William the Silent [1564- 

as far as he could, ready himself to espouse action 
or portions of action at a later date, were they suc- 
cessful. Meanwhile he was part of the admin- 
istration, sometimes willingly blind and sometimes 
seeing. 

My brother, I am waiting [writes Orange in January, 
1566] impatiently for news of you and would give a 
thousand crowns if you were here for there is an affair 
affecting you which is making a great stir. You are 
accused of writing a broadside which has been found 
in Antwerp, together with several other things which 
I have not time to write you about. ... I beg you 
do not do things like this. I will send you other news 
at the first opportunity. Do you let me know the 
progress of your negotiations and what the chances of 
success. T 

But, nevertheless, the Prince's opinions are not 
veiled. On January 24th he writes a perfectly 
fair exposition of his own position to the Regent. 2 
As he did not possess the gift of condensed ex- 
pression his letter is too verbose to be given in 
full, though it is an important chapter in his 
biography. After stating that he is aware that he 
is giving advice unasked, but that he feels that, 
as Philip's loyal servitor, he is morally bound to 
try to avert ruin from the land, he continues : 

As to the reformation of the priests and in regard 
to ecclesiastical ordinances ... I refer these to 
the proper authorities and will obey his Majesty's 

1 Groen, ii., p. 10. 2 Ibid., p. 16. 



15663 Growth of Popular Discontent 163 

commands when I can. As to the second point, 
viz., that governors and other civil officers should aid 
the inquisitors . . . and maintain the human and 
divine authority belonging to them, your Highness 
must recall the fact that the opposition to the new- 
sees was wholly caused by the fear lest, under this 
guise, some form of the inquisition might be intro- 
duced ; moreover, your Highness must remember that 
his imperial Majesty and Queen Marie repeatedly 
assured the Netherland people verbally and in pro- 
clamations that the said inquisition should never be 
introduced. It was such assurances that have enabled 
commerce to prosper here, etc. 

The third point is that his Majesty has ordered 
that ... all the placards successively issued by 
emperor and king shall be rigorously and literally 
carried out. Madame, this seems to me very hard. 
The placards are numerous and diverse and have 
never been enforced, even when there was not such 
widespread misery as at present. Their execution 
now would be unbearable and inexpedient. 

Orange proceeds to say that the toleration 
obtaining in the neighbouring lands would make 
any oppression seem very unfair and that it 
would be the height of folly "to rouse popular 
passion now when the populace are already 
suffering from the wheat famine," and he hopes 
that all rigorous measures will be deferred till 
Philip comes "to set all right by his presence," — 
that ever fallacious will-o'-the-wisp! Orange 
concludes his epistle by saying that if the King 
persists in his orders he prefers resigning all his 



164 William the Silent [1564- 

offices rather than to "incur the blame which 
would attach to me and mine if misfortune 
falls on the lands under my charge." "The 
Prince's answer to the Regent will give her 
something to bite if she has good teeth," was 
Hoogstraaten's comment on this letter. 1 

In February a number of the nobles were again 
assembled at Breda. Nicholas de Hames writes 
thence to Count Louis : 

At the last meeting there were present Sr. de Waron, 
the admiral's lieutenant, Mons. Dolhain, Mons. de 
Louwreval, Mons. de Thoulouse, Mons. de Leefdael, 
and myself. A plan was decided on which seemed 
better than anything else suggested and which was 
approved by M. de Brederode, to whom we confided the 
details, while we only gave a general outline to the prince. 

M. de Brederode was heartily in favour of the pro- 
posed enterprise, but the prince did not approve the 
outline, deeming it utterly impracticable. Moreover 
he does not think the time ripe for arms and without 
force action would be impossible. 2 

Before the famous petition was decided on there 
were other meetings at Hoogstraaten's chateau 
and at Breda. Hoogstraaten remained at home 
after the first and missed his friends sorely. In 
a letter to Count Louis, March 15th, suggesting 
some changes in the draft, he desires him to press 
the gentlemen's hands 100,000,000 times. 3 

1 Groen, ii., p. 54. 2 Ibid., p. 35. 

s Ibid. p. 46. The cMteau is now the town poor-house. 



1566] Growth of Popular Discontent 165 

In the further negotiations between the govern- 
ment and the nobles about the details of the 
presentation of the petition, Orange is entirely 
identified with the former. He does not, to be 
sure, seem over-eager to go to Brussels, pleading 
his wife's illness and other private affairs, as 
reasons for remaining at Breda, but when at the 
capital his advice at the council is good, and he 
uses his influence with Louis to keep things smooth. 

April 5, 1566, was the momentous day when 
about three hundred petitioners, with Brederode 
at the rear, marched up the hill to the palace 
in Brussels with the petition for moderation and 
for respect to nationality. 1 As Brederode read 
it aloud, Margaret grew more and more agitated. 
At its conclusion tears were running down her 
cheeks. As soon as she was calm enough to 
speak she said that an answer should be given 
after consultation with her advisers. 

A long animated debate followed. Orange tried 
to calm the Regent by assuring her that the 
petitioners were no wild conspirators but sober, 
earnest, well-meaning, well-born gentlemen, who 
knew the temper of the land and whose pro- 
test deserved honourable consideration. Egmont 
shrugged his shoulders in the Italian fashion and 
remarked that his leg was beginning to trouble 

1 The canvass for signatures was almost house-to-house. 
Louis had assumed charge of Zealand, Friesland, and the "city"; 
Brederode of Holland. Protestant ministers everywhere did 
good service. See Pontus Payen, i., p. 136, etc. 



1 66 William the Silent [1564- 

him again, and he thought he would have to go 
to Aix for treatment. Then it is said that Berlay- 
mont put in his word and said, "How, Madame, 
can it be that your Highness is afraid of these 
beggars? By the living God, if my advice were 
taken, their petition should have a bastinado as 
sole commentary and they should be made to 
go down the palace steps faster than they came 
up." z Meghen and Aremberg agreed with Berlay- 
mont. 

It was the moderate counsel of the Prince that 
prevailed so far that Margaret's apos title on the 
petition was at least civil. She agreed to refer 
the matter to the King and meanwhile she would 
recommend gentleness and discretion to the 
officers. So decision was postponed until a mes- 
senger could travel to Spain and back again. 2 

On the 8th, Brederode brought back an answer 
to Margaret's apos title which assumed that she 
would give orders that all persecution should 
cease until the King's word came. The petition- 
ers promised to keep the public peace and asked 
that their petition should be officially printed. 
Satisfaction that all had passed so well found ex- 
pression at a banquet given by Brederode in 
Culemburg's house, on the evening of June 8th. 
In the midst of the talk over the incident, Ber- 

1 See Gachard, Etudes et notices historiques, i., p. 130. This 
story is discussed and weighed. Also see Apologie van Lodewijk 
van Nassau, Bijd. van het Hist. Gen. van Utrecht, 1885, p. 216. 

2 Groen, ii., p. 84. 



1566] Growth of Popular Discontent 167 

laymont's term of "beggar" was referred to and 
there was unanimous consent to assuming the 
appellation as their own. 

By the salt, by the bread, by the wallet yet, 

The beggars will not change, no matter how they fret, 1 

was the doggerel they chanted as they adopted 
the derogatory term for their chosen title. And 
furthermore it was resolved to wear a dress and a 
device that would show their intentions to assume 
the name as an honourable badge, while they 
meant no disrespect to the sovereign. It was 
" faithful to the king even to a beggar's wallet." 2 
At a late hour Orange, Egmont, and Home, 
who had supped with the Count of Mansfeld, 
dropped in at this banquet and drank one health 
to the company, who shouted out noisily, "Long 
live the King, health to the Beggars." A party 
name was born. The opponents of Spanish rule 
in the Netherlands were henceforth to be known 
as Gueux or Beggars. Their shaven chins and long 
mustaches soon became familiar sights on land 
and sea. 

1 "Par le sel, par le pain, par le besache, 

Les gueulx ne changeront quoy qu'on se fache." 

2 The device was ' 'fiddles au roy jusques d la besace." 



CHAPTER IX 

THE PARTING OF THE WAYS 
I 566-1 567 

THE younger confederates were full of jubila- 
tion over their recognition by the Regent 
and separated for their homes highly delighted 
with their achievement. From this same moment, 
however, the more astute Prince of Orange 
apparently abandoned all hope of modifying the 
King's policy. His correspondence with the Ger- 
mans, which had never nagged, took on a more 
specific tone. He began to make definite prepara- 
tions for other contingencies. 

The sectaries had been greatly impressed by 
the reception of the petition and they exaggerated 
their success. They felt that the tide had turned 
in their favour and the boldest of anti-orthodox 
sentiments were voiced in the pulpits by some- 
time priests who had changed their faith, as well 
as by the unlearned, unlicensed preachers who 
preached indoors and out wherever they could find 
a foothold. x 

1 The term HaagPreek, hedge preaching, seems to mean 
nothing more than non-legalised sermons. Haag is used as in 
Haag-weduwe, equivalent to grass- widow. Fruin viii., p. 307. 

168 



[1566-1567] The Parting of the Ways 169 

When reluctant consent was wrung from Mar- 
garet that the placards 1 should be modified, she 
had not the slightest idea of granting a license for 
free preaching, and was aghast when she found 
that this liberty was being regarded by the 
reformers as their natural right and that the 
nobles were apparently fostering this idea. She 
was soon convinced that Orange was one of the 
chief culprits in this regard. 

It must be conceded that Orange was curiously 
inconsistent at this time. He was continually 
referring to Germany as an example of a land 
where toleration worked well, but there the 
principle had always been that the princes could 
dictate within their territories, and a logical con- 
clusion to the argument would have supported 
Philip's pretensions in the Netherlands as long as 
he was sovereign. The Regent was filled with 
terror, and very doubtful about her best proced- 
ure. In the fear of unchaining a war of religion 
she did not dare trust wholly to the purely Cath- 
olic party, as represented by Mansfeld, Aerschot, 
Berlaymont, Aremberg, Meghen, and Noircarmes. 
The confidence she had once felt in Orange, Eg- 
mont, and Home was gradually undermined, but 
she continued to cling to them because she felt 
that they understood the people as no one else did. 

In July, 1566, the infection of insurrection 
reached Antwerp and it was Orange who was sent 

1 This word is used continually in the sense of the provisions 
contained in them. 



170 William the Silent U566- 

thither to pacify the restless spirits and Orange, 
too, from whom help was hoped in relation to the 
confederates, who had arranged a new conven-- 
tion for July 14th at St. Trond in the territory of 
the Bishop of Liege. The confederates, on the 
Prince's advice, still declared themselves faithful 
to the King, but they took care to be fully informed 
of everything going on in Madrid and to be on 
their guard. To their fresh demands, formal and 
informal, Margaret answered that she would ask 
the advice of the Knights of the Fleece in an 
assembly appointed for August 28th. Before that 
date Margaret's anxiety as to her brother's wrath 
was somewhat relieved by advices from Philip 
approving the temporary suppression of the in- 
quisition, the moderation of the placards, and a 
general pardon for all the doubtful deeds hither- 
to committed. x 

^To return to Antwerp, where the progress of 
affairs gives the best picture of the temper and 
methods of the Prince of Orange. This Brabant 
seaport was by no means a homogeneous city of 
Flemish burghers. It contained a very mixed 
population. Merchants from all the chief trading 
centres of Europe kept offices or houses there for 
the benefit of their fellow-townsmen visiting 
Antwerp on commercial, financial, or diplomatic 
errands. These travellers were incidentally the 

1 In a commission given the nobles to treat with the insur- 
gents, Margaret inserted the words, " consider x la force, necessite 
inevitable." 



15671 The Parting of the Ways 171 

bearers of new thoughts. Unlike the westerly 
towns open chiefly to French influences, Antwerp 
had, moreover, large numbers of Lutherans and 
Anabaptists as well as Calvinists. 

As the rumours of increasing audacity among 
all these sectarians rendered Margaret more and 
more uneasy she begged the Prince — hereditary 
Burgrave of Antwerp J — to try his strength at paci- 
fying the seething elements. In considering his 
part two points must be borne in mind, first, that 
Orange had already tendered to Philip his resig- 
nation from all his offices, and second, that he 
had plainly told the Regent that he knew the free 
exercise of religion could not be checked. "Uni- 
verses faces Antwerpce inciderunt" says Stradaand 
the Prince found it true. 

On his arrival he wrote as follows : 

Antwerp, July 14th. 

Madame: I only reached here at seven o'clock 
because I was delayed by various affairs, and left 
Brussels late. When I came near Berchem, half a 
league from here, M. de Brederode met me with a 
goodly number of gentlemen, who gave me a salvo 
with their pistols, and then a few bourgeois in the 
troop shouted " Vivent les Gueux" and this con- 
tinued from time to time, all the way into the city. 
I should judge that there were, in all, about 30,000 
men. 

The citizens greeted me warmly, and when I 

J Engelbert, Henry, and Rene" of Nassau had all held this office 
before William. 



172 William the Silent [1566- 

expressed the great desire of your Highness to aid 
them, they presented certain articles, or ordinances, 
designed to establish quiet in this city, which we 
shall carefully examine to-day. They report that 
preaching took place to-day outside the walls, and 
that many of the large congregations went armed to 
protect the others, because they had heard that the 
Drossart of Brabant was commissioned to disperse 
their gathering. As soon as possible, I had an inter- 
view with the chief dissenters and urged them to de- 
sist from large assemblies. I fear, however, that this 
will have no effect, but I hope that they will not try 
preaching within the walls. 

Whatever happens shall be straightway reported 
to your Highness. 1 

Then Orange proceeded to act according to 
what he deemed the needs of the moment. He 
decided not to prohibit the sermons but to control 
their unruliness with a firm hand. Under the 
reassuring influences of his methods the foreign 
merchants consented to abandon the idea of 
immediate departure and to hope for better 
things. 

The early part of August was employed by 
Orange in pacificatory efforts. Then the Regent 
insisted on his return to Brussels for the appointed 
assembly of the Knights of the Golden Fleece, and 
refused to take his word that he could not answer 
for the peace of Antwerp if he left the city. Au- 
gust 1 8th was then and still is a favourite festival 

1 Gachard, Cor., ii., pp. 136-138. 



1567] The Parting of the Ways 173 

in the holiday-loving town. It was called the day 
of the Ommegang, from the custom of carrying a 
certain little image of the Virgin in solemn pro- 
cession through the city. Apprehensive of the 
danger of any kind of crowd and excitement in the 
highly wrought state of feeling, Orange delayed 
his departure for Brussels until the morrow of this 
festival. Accompanied by his wife and Louis, 
he watched the procession from a window in the 
town-hall. The poor little image, decked out in 
the rich gifts that had been showered upon her in 
the past, did not command the reverence that had 
been her wont. "Mayken, Mayken, thine hour 
has struck. This is thy last walk abroad. The 
city is tired of thee," were the cries with which 
she was greeted. Her guardians were glad to 
hurry her back into safety behind the iron railings 
in the choir, without permitting her to remain at 
the west door for a time to receive homage on her 
fete. Hoping that immediate danger of rioting 
was past, Orange set out for Brussels at an early 
hour on the 19th. Before he could have reached 
his destination, little Mayken had been discovered 
in her hiding place of the Cathedral choir and an 
unruly mob had begun to attack her with jeers and 
insults. It is not likely that there was any delib- 
erate intention at the outset. A Flemish mob 
is inflammable material. The mocking word of 
a ragamuffin who dared to parody a sermon from 
the pulpit proved a torch to combustible stuff, 
but the priests at last succeeded in clearing the 



174 William the Silent [1566- 

church on that day and in closing the door. On 
the 20th, the crowd, still excited, flocked to the 
edifice again and the best efforts of the town 
officers in a body only resulted in stilling the 
tumult momentarily. The crowd finally broke 
all bonds of decency and the sacred building 
became the scene of wanton destruction. There 
was utter contempt for sacred property. All the 
accumulated hatred for what was disliked in the 
ancient establishment found vent and those who 
were actuated by religious fanaticism were aided 
by riffraff without any serious opinions joining 
the melee from mere love of excitement. 

Orange was not allowed to return to Antwerp 
immediately. It was rumoured in Brussels that 
the image breakers, the iconoclasts, as they began 
to be called, were to repeat these scenes in all the 
churches of the capital. Margaret clung to the 
Prince as a bulwark against the mob. On August 
25th, she yielded to advice, gave way to the de- 
mands of the populace, and sorely against her 
will, signed articles providing that the dissenters 
should be permitted to enjoy their public sermons 
in all places where preaching had taken place 
before this date. Formal articles were also ex- 
changed between the Regent and Louis of Nassau, 
attended by fifteen confederates. These latter 
pledged themselves to consider their league dis- 
solved and to maintain the King's authority as 
long as the Duchess held to her promises. The 
so-called Accord further declared the inquisition 



y 



1567] The Parting of the Ways 175 

in abeyance, and pledged the King to protect the 
nobles from any punishment for past transactions 
and to accept of their elegibility for royal service. 
When the letters patent containing this Accord 
were published in the various cities, the Nether- 
landers thought a new day was dawning. In 
Antwerp the Prince left no stone unturned to give 
all citizens their due, while he continued to urge 
that the government simply betrayed its own 
weakness by making laws that could not be 
enforced. The intelligent English observer at 
Antwerp, Sir Thomas Gresham, wrote as follows 
to Lord Cecil, September 8th: 

On the fourth of this present, the Prince of Orendge 
sent for me to dine with him, who gave me verie 
great entertainment; and as he demanded of the 
helth of the Quene's Majestie, he of himself dis- 
coursed unto me all the proceedings of this toun, and 
what a dangerous piece of worke it was, and that 
now he had agreed with the Protestants; which, 
agreement he caused to be reade unto me by the re- 
corder of this toune, Weasingbeck (he which came 
into England for the license of corn) being the same 
daie proclaimed at the toune-house: the copie thereof 
I send you here inclosed. But in all this discourse 
he said: "The Kinge wold not be content with this, 
oure doings"; which causeth me to think this matter 
is not yet ended, but like to come to great mischief; 
and specially if the Kinge of Spaine maie get the 
upper hande. He also asked me "whether our nation 
was minded to depart this toun or not." I showed 
him, I heard of no such matter. ... In all his talk 



176 William the Silent tl566- 

he said unto me, "I know this will nothing content 
the king"; and at dinner he carved me, himself, all 
the dinner time ; and in the midst of dinner, he drank 
a carouse to the Queen's Majestie, which carouse the 
princess, his wief , and withal the borde did the like. * 

Twelve days after the ruthless desecration of 
the Antwerp Cathedral, it was solemnly restored 
to its original purpose and almost entirely by the 
exertion of the man whose title later became the 
synonym for aggressive Protestantism. His re- 
port to the Regent was as follows: 

Madame: Yesterday, thank God, there was again 
preaching in the great church at N6tre Dame, owing 
to my exertions. Mass was also celebrated publicly as 
usual, in the presence of a goodly assembly. 

Your Highness may rest assured that in a short 
time, with God's aid, I will execute the orders that 
divine service be re-established everywhere. The 
opposition, however, in this city is very strong, even 
among people of good standing. 2 

At about the same date the Prince writes to 
William of Hesse, and to other Germans, giving 
a slightly different colour to the same events 
(August, 1566). The postscript is freer in tone 
than the letter, and meant only for the Land- 
grave's eyes. 

We do not doubt . . . that things will turn out 
well and come to no open outbreak. For we have in 

1 Burgon, ii., p. 160, etc. 

2 Gachard, Cor., ii., p. 208. 



1567] The Parting of the Ways 177 

this city now three churches [three church organisa- 
tions] of which the first is Catholic. The honourable 
council allotted one church [edifice] to the Augsburg 
Confession. The Calvinists preach at three places 
in the city, but all in the open air. The Anabaptists, 
too, have their meetings but in secret and they never 
show themselves. And thus the four religions exist 
side by side. But we hope that when the Estates meet 
they will hit upon a means — with God's help — to 
heal up this cleft, so that the right one may be planted 
and the weeds uprooted. 1 . 

Had not the Landgrave the right to infer that 
das rechte was the Lutheran faith? The italics 
are not in the original. 

Three months later (November), Orange goes 
further and asks the Landgrave's opinion about 
the advisability of writing confidentially to Philip, 
who already suspects him of heresy, and telling 
him plainly that he is indeed faithful to the 
Augsburg Confession, in which he was "born and 
educated," but that he will pledge himself never 
to try to convert any one else to his way of 
thinking. 2 

The old Landgrave Philip is greatly rejoiced that 
Orange is turning towards truth and writes hope- 
fully of the aid that Lutheran princes will be sure 
to give the Netherlands if matters be pushed to an 
issue. Nevertheless, the winter proved a period 
of hesitation. Egmont and Home could not 
agree with Orange that the time had come to 

1 Groen, ii., p. 261. 2 Ibid., p. 495. 



178 William the Silent [1566- 

"unite their counsels rather than to sell their 
lives cheaply." Had they done so "we could 
have employed every means in our power, our 
money and blood, to prevent Alva and the 
Spanish from getting a foothold in the land" 
{Apology). 

Meantime what had taken place in Antwerp 
was repeated in Holland. The sectaries wished the 
sermons, the Regent wished them stopped, and 
the Prince was determined to assure the reformers 
the privileges he considered as legalised by the 
Accord of August 25th. There was much wrang- 
ling over the exact dates when preaching had 
taken place in the various localities, and often 
the question was not easy to decide, as the sole 
witnesses were interested parties. On January 
24, 1567, Orange sends the Regent a copy of his 
final accord with the citizens of Amsterdam. 1 
He had excluded the dissenters from the church 
of the Minorites, but had decided to permit them 
to hold their assemblies inside the city until they 
could build an auditorium outside in the spring. 
That is in complete conformity with his whole 
habit of mind — he checked religious excesses, but 
planned proper outlets for religious zeal, and in 
so doing claimed that he took the best means of 
preserving the King's authority even when he went 
a little beyond the letter of his instructions. For 
instance, the environs of Amsterdam, the Venice 
of the North, offered no convenient fields for 

1 Gachard, Cor., ii., p. 341. 



1567] The Parting of the Ways 179 

assemblies, there being hardly a dry foothold 
without her gates. So Orange insisted that cer- 
tain concessions be made, refusing to have the 
eager worshippers forced into boats for their 
services, as Margaret suggested. 

Margaret was irritably sure that he was wrong 
in his liberality, but had to accept his measures for 
the time. She insisted on his personal direction, 
and permitted him to employ no lieutenant, even 
while out of sympathy with him. Her feeble rep- 
resentations to her brother were, meanwhile, just 
of a kind to nag the King into complete distrust. 
After meditation, Philip arrived at the conviction 
that with so much disaffection in the air the only 
effective means of separating the sheep from the 
goats would be to demand a new oath of alle- 
giance from every royal functionary, officer, and 
servant in his Netherland service. Whoever re- 
fused this test was to be rated as a traitor and 
Margaret was ordered to apply it at once. In 
answer to her directions to give this test to his 
own troops, Orange said rather nonchalantly that 
it would not be convenient for him to do so in 
person. His companies were in Brussels — some 
one might take the oaths there if she wished it. 

It was not until March that the formula of the 
required oath for his own signature was sent to 
the Prince. He let no grass grow under his feet 
but returned it instantly to the Duchess with the 
following note 1 : 

1 Groen, in., p. 46 Condensed. 



l8o William the Silent [1566- 

Madame: As you desire me to take a new oath, 
according to a prescribed form you send me, I must 
at once advise your Highness that, though I am de- 
voted heart and soul to his Majesty's service, as 
evinced by my whole career, I find great difficulty in 
consenting to this. If I swear fealty again, it might 
appear that I had neglected, or forsworn my pre- 
vious vows. 

The form of this new oath, too, is somewhat strange, 
and seems to imply that I either meditate excusing 
myself from loyal exertions in the king's service, or 
that I am to receive orders that I could not con- 
scientiously execute, as I have also sworn to protect 
the privileges of the provinces. 

As his Majesty now writes that all officers and 
servants, with no exception, must subscribe to this 
oath, or be discharged from his service, I must con- 
sider myself of the latter number, and will retire for a 
time, until his Majesty comes to these provinces him- 
self, to obtain a true judgment of affairs. . . . 

Therefore, I pray your Highness, send some gentle- 
man to me with proper papers of dismissal, to whom 
I may deliver my commission, assuring you at the 
same time that I will never fail in my service to his 
Majesty for the good of this land. 

That the Regent refused to accept the resigna- 
tion was her affair, not the Prince's. Yet in spite 
of his separation from her interests, his part in 
a transaction subsequent to this correspondence 
showed that he kept his standard of official 
responsibility to the end of his service. 

Some portions of the confederates became 




COUNT JOHN OF NASSAU. 
(Reproduced from an old engraving.) 



1567] The Parting of the Ways 181 

impatient and a premature, ill-advised attempt 
was made to open active hostilities in Brabant by 
a small body under the unskilled leadership of an 
ardent young Calvinist, Jean de Marnix, Sr. de 
Tholouse. He was attacked, March 13th, at 
Ostrawell, just outside Antwerp, by Philip de 
Lannoy and his little force was practically cut 
to pieces. The Antwerp Calvinists saw the 
encounter and were eager to rush out and take 
part. Orange resolutely held them back and 
was loaded with obloquy in consequence. The 
sight of the Catholic soldiers ordered by him into 
the Place de Meir filled the insurgent sympathisers 
with intense indignation. Orange was called 
"foul traitor," " Papist," and " servant of Anti- 
Christ," " pleasant little epithets habitual to the 
Huguenots," remarks Pontus Payen. 1 

The angry throng spent the whole night on the 
Place de Meir, whither they had, in defiance of 
orders, dragged seventeen pieces of artillery. 
Like people out of their heads they surged from 
church to church, from monastery to monastery, 
pillaging as they went. The crowd was strictly 
Calvinist and was as hostile to Lutherans, "demi- 
papists," and to Anabaptists as to Catholics. 
It was a very critical situation, and Orange alone 
acted with firmness and decision. He obtained 
the co-operation of the merchants whose property 
was in jeopardy as well as of various worthy 
citizens and finally forced a convention upon all 

1 Memoir es, i., p. 304, etc. 



1 82 William the Silent [1566- 

factions and the menacing tumult was stilled 
without confusion. 

Many praise the prince highly for this act, credit- 
ing him with preserving the city from pillage by his 
presence. They claim he alone saved the lives of the 
Catholics, to whom the Lutherans too gave timely 
assistance. As for me [continues the Catholic royal- 
list Payen 1 ], I should be sorry to deny honour to 
the prince but I consider that the Calvinists owed 
him far more gratitude than the Catholics and Luther- 
ans, because the compromise he made was for the 
advantage of the weakest body, who were more- 
over on the point of receiving condign punishment 
for the thefts, sacrileges, and impieties they had 
committed. 

Four days long three hostile parties thus, armed 
with rude but dangerous weapons, glowered at 
each other within the narrow walls of Antwerp. 
On March 17th the Calvinists finally subscribed 
to the convention and the immediate danger of 
terrible disorder was averted. 2 

Now, Sir, howe the Regent and the court will take 
this business that the Prince and this towne have 
done, it is to be doubted [writes Gresham to Cecil], 
not well; for that I am crediblie informed that the 
Regent hathe no greate trust in the Prince's doings 
in this town. Yet, I will assure your honnor the 
Prince verie nobly hathe traveled both night and daie, 
to kepe this towne from manne slaughter, and from 

1 Memoir es, i, p. 310. 2 Gachard, Cor., ii., cxxxviii. 



15671 The Parting of the Ways 183 

despoile: whiche doubtless had taken place, if he had 
not been, — to the losse of XX thowsand men : for that 
I sawe never men so desperate willing to fight: and 
speciallie the Valloons who joyned all with the 
Calvinists. x 

There was bitter feeling among the Calvinists 
that the Prince had forsaken them and that to his 
defection was due the disaster to Tholouse. In 
his speech defending the articles of convention, 
Orange pointed out that the calamity was a warn- 
ing against pitting weak, untrained volunteers 
with experienced soldiers. His terms implied 
sympathy with the vanquished, but he ended his 
speech with "God save the King." And, per- 
haps, it was not surprising that caricatures were 
published, showing Orange with two faces and his 
hand stretched in two directions. For the accu- 
sation was also made that he took money from 
both sides. 

"Although this was wrought with . . . danger 
to life and limb, we may be sure that the service 
will not gain much thanks at court," writes the 
Prince to a German friend. He fully appreciated 
that there was no more place for him in con- 
nection with that court. 

April 10th is the date of the last of several 
letters written by Orange to Philip, reiterating 
his intention of resigning. It is verbose but on 
the whole it is a remarkably honest transition 

1 Burgon, ii., p. 207. 



184 William the Silent [1566-1567] 

from loyalty to rebellion. On the nth Orange 
left Antwerp, returned to Breda, and spent eleven 
days in preparations to withdraw to Dillenburg. 
His son Philip William took a brief holiday to 
come from Louvain to receive what proved to be 
his father's last words to him and to take leave 
of the family. 

Formal letters of farewell were written to 
various people, Egmont and Home among them, 
and all passed in a deliberate, leisurely fashion. 
The Prince shows pretty plainly in his talk with 
Elbertus Leoninus two hours before he set forth, 
that he fully understood his position, yet he con- 
tinued to play with gracious loyal words to the very 
end in his last letter to Margaret, useless words 
which deceived no one. He took his daughter 
from the court, alleging that Countess Juliana 
wished to see her, but his son was allowed to return 
to Louvain, as an ostensible hostage for his 
father. Noircarmes says that Orange took a 
hasty departure followed by a single equerry. 1 
As a matter of fact there seems nothing hasty in 
the circumstances. He may have gone as far as 
Cleves alone. There his wife and household joined 
him. Then with a train swelled by an ever-increas- 
ing number of fugitives, the Prince made his way 
up the Rhine valley, stayed a month at Siegen, 
and finally established himself at Dillenburg, 
which was to be his headquarters for four years. 

1 Lettres missives, Brussels archives. 



CHAPTER X 

THE EXILE 
I 568-1 57O 

IT was a great change from the troubled atmos- 
phere of the Netherlands to the quiet Nassau 
castle, perched on its hill-top, remote from courts 
and even from the great highways of travel. It 
did not remain quiet, however, as Orange was one 
of those people who bring bustle and activity 
with them wherever they are. His claim to the 
house where he was born was by courtesy only, 
as he had definitely ceded his rights to his brothers, 
with Count John as the legal head, but there is 
no doubt that the best was offered ungrudgingly 
to the honoured eldest brother, although this 
visit must have entailed serious inconvenience 
upon the household, already a patriarchal one. 
John and his wife Elizabeth, the Landgravine of 
Leuchtenberg, had several children. Juliana of 
Stolberg with her unmarried daughters continued 
to make Dillenburg her chief residence, receiving 
from the inmates, one and all, reverence and 
affection. The younger sons, Adolph and Henry, 
who fluttered ordinarily around the Prince like 
moths about a candle, attracted first by the 

185 



186 William the Silent [1568- 

possible emoluments and later by the sure excite- 
ment of the Netherlands, enjoyed the freedom of 
the German castle as homing-ground, and the 
married daughters and their husbands were 
frequent guests. But when the Prince came, the 
provision for his large suite — at least one hundred 
and fifty persons — was probably a light burden 
to the castle hostess in comparison with that of 
entertaining the Princess of Orange herself. 1 
Anne was no easy member of a household when she 
was the head and the first person for consideration 
and certainly was not an agreeable visitor, under 
the present untoward circumstances. The hap- 
piness that the young wife had boasted of in the 
first months of her married life had been of very 
brief duration. References to the Prince's do- 
mestic difficulties are frequent in Granvelle's, 
as well as in the Nassau correspondence, showing 
how notorious was the uncomfortable state of 
affairs. Indeed, Anne's behaviour could hardly 
have been concealed from public view, as her 
eccentricities showed themselves at home and 
abroad alike. At the end of his own resources 
her husband at last appealed to her relations, and 
much debate ensued in regard to remedies. 

As I was prevented from speaking to the Duke of 

1 The account of Anne is taken mainly from an article by 
Bottiger in von Raumer's Historiches Taschenbuch, vii., p. 98, 
etc., and Het Huwelijk, etc., Bakhuizen. Groen prints some 
letters, iii., p. 327, and others are in the Orange-Nassau family 
archives, The Hague. 



1570] The Exile 187 

Saxony's gentleman [wrote Orange to Louis, June 22, 
1565 1 ], both this morning and after dinner, I think it 
would be well for you to see him and say that although 
my wife promised to behave better, she has acted in 
exactly the same manner again. In order that my 
statements may not seem like fabrications, I should 
like him to get testimony about her behaviour from 
the steward, van der Eike, and from the other serv- 
ants, especially from her own maid, the little German 
girl. After hearing all sides the duke will, perhaps, 
be able to make some suggestions. What my wife 
has said to him she has reiterated to me and to others 
a hundred times, so that I fear it will be the same old 
story as soon as the messenger is gone. In case that 
he cannot find any remedy, let this report reach the 
ears of the elector, so that he may think out some- 
thing and write to my wife. 

Anne was, evidently, a thoroughly uncomfort- 
able person; her moods and vagaries being, per- 
haps, half explained by the continued ill health 
incident to successive disappointments in child- 
bearing. Before 1567 she had become more and 
more critical of every person and thing in the 
Netherlands. She was loud in her indignation 
against her husband for not standing up more 
sturdily for his rights and her precedence. "He 
let every one ride over him," etc. As already 
mentioned, this discontent of hers has been rated 
as a factor in the Prince's revolt. But it was not. 
It was only a thorn in his flesh — not a spur to 

1 Groen, i., p. 386. 



1 88 William the Silent 11568- 

action. He soon learned to take her at J her 
worth. 

When the actual proposition came to abandon 
the hated land, Anne suddenly saw matters in a 
different aspect and opposed the project violently. 
She did not, however, refuse to follow her husband, 
and there may have been some special cause for 
apprehension that frightened her into quitting 
Breda on April 22nd. No sooner was she lodged 
safely at Dillenburg, however, than her dis- 
content took on a bitterer tone. Everything was 
uncomfortable to her mind. The house was 
crowded. The service was inadequate. Her 
sisters-in-law did not give her the respect due to her 
birth and rank. They were not inclined always 
to remember that she was the great Electors 
daughter, and hence infinitely superior to small 
nobles like themselves. She looked back to the 
Netherlands with longing eyes, and spent all her 
days in deploring the emigration her husband had 
forced upon her. 

, On his part, the Prince showed no regret for his 
decisive step. His time of hesitation and com- 
promise was over. He was convinced that the 
cleft between Philip and his subjects was to 
increase; and' he began to prepare in a character- 
istic fashion for leadership which would knit him 
more closely to the Germans whose alliance he 
desired. Within a very few days after his arrival 
at Dillenburg, he writes, June 13th, to William 
of Hesse, asking for the loan of a Lutheran 



1570] The Exite 189 

preacher, Nicholas Zell, from Treysa, to give him 
religious instruction. 1 " We are heartily desirous 
of using the time we are to stay here out of the 
Netherlands for strengthening our character and 
for studying the Holy Scriptures." The Land- 
grave was delighted to give his aid. Possibly ab- 
sorption in this new idea afforded Orange some 
relief from the nagging tongue of the Princess, 
which probably continued its reproaches in spite 
of speedy proof that the Prince had shown wisdom 
in his action. 

The hegira had indeed been none too soon. 
Scarcely a month after the departure from Breda, 
the Duke of Alva left Carthagena, at the head of 
a picked army and further armed with definite 
instructions to accomplish with an iron hand 
what the Duchess had failed to do, viz., to crush 
all popular movements and to restore among all 
alike complete conformity to the Church of Rome. 
Almost up to the moment of Alva's embarkation, 
Margaret had cherished the hope of her brother's 
peaceful coming to approve her conciliatory ef- 
forts. She had even made plans for receiving 
him in Zealand. After all the threatening trouble 
and laboured pacification in which she felt that 
good work had been done, she was filled with con- 
sternation at the thought of the alien army and 
the policy it implied, and she tried to convince 
Alva with letters sent to various points on his 
line of march that he had better leave his troops 

1 Orange-Nassau family archives, The Hague. 



190 William the Silent [1568- 

at a distance and come on alone to survey the 
situation. Of course her words were unheeded. 
Alva had no doubts of his ability to settle diffi- 
culties that had baffled a mere woman. "I have 
tamed men of iron, and shall I now not be able to 
tame these men of butter?" is one of the phrases 
credited to his mouth. It is also said that when 
the Catholic Count Egmont, who had chosen the 
part of faithful royalist, came to greet him, he 
said contemptuously, "There is the great heretic," 
in a voice loud enough to reach Egmont 's ears. 
But face to face with him, Alva's manner changed - 
and he greeted the Count cordially and put his arm 
around the neck he had already dedicated to the. 
block. As he passed through Louvain, Philip 
William of Nassau, accompanied by his tutor, 
Henry von Wiltberg, came out of his lodgings "to 
kiss his hand, and M. de Buren was well received 
and caressed by the Duke," and invited to another 
interview on the morrow, when the young student 
was completely captivated by the veteran. Wilt- 
berg, thinking that some good might ensue from 
pleasant relations between the new Regent and 
young Nassau, suggested the present of a horse 
on the boy's part to the Prior of St. John, Alva's 
illegitimate son. x 

One effect of the receipt at Dillenburg of the 
news of Alva's arrival in the Netherlands was 
singular and exactly contrary to what might have 
been expected. Anne became more and more 

1 Groen, iii., p. 120. Henry von Wiltberg to Orange. 



1570] The Exile 19I 

restive and begged permission to go back to Breda 
to see about her property. Assured by her hus- 
band's relations that such return was impossible, 
she appealed to her uncle, the Elector, asking him 
to help her leave the Nassau house. When 
Orange heard of this indirectly, he sent a special 
messenger, Volbrecht Riedsel, post haste to 
Dresden, to explain his own motives in keeping 
his wife with him. His statement was as follows : 
The Princess had not liked the Netherlands and 
had repeatedly desired to leave the land, "because 
she would not stay any longer with such godless 
and faithless people." Now she desired to return 
when she would imperil not only herself but her 
unborn child. Besides that reason, he was un- 
willing to permit the separation because it might 
lay him and his brothers open to the charge of ill- 
treating her at Dillenburg, and because she might 
incur danger on account of her religion or be 
forced into perversion from the true knowledge 
of Christ (although she formerly had such a warm 
inclination for religion) "to popish horrors or 
to other errors most painful to you," etc. In 
addition to the above reasons, Orange adds a 
very pointed intimation that he cannot afford 
two households under the existing circumstances. 

Augustus was quite willing to agree with his 
nephew-in-law and obediently repeated his lesson 
to his niece and bade her be patient. 

On November 14th, Anne gave birth to a 
son who was to perpetuate the qualities of the 



192 William the Silent [1568- 

boasted great Elector in his name, Maurice. He 
was the first of the Prince's children to be pub- 
licly baptised with full Protestant rites. 

The events in the Netherlands ought to have 
convinced Anne of her husband's wisdom in 
bringing her and her children to a safe refuge. 
The treacherous arrest of Egmont and Home 
was followed by the swift measures on the part 
of Alva towards obtaining " perfect obedience." 
He ordered that all culprits alike should be tried 
before a newly instituted arbitrary tribunal, called 
the Council of Troubles and speedily nicknamed, 
from its sanguinary sentences, the Council of 
Blood. There was complete disregard of all the 
cherished ancient privileges of the provinces. 
Persecution of heresy was determined and piti- 
less. Possibly the numbers of executions have 
been exaggerated, but certain it is that the 
suffering was intense and widespread, that many 
suffered death for their convictions and many 
emigrated to England rather than renounce their 
faith. 

The Princess inborn disposition to throw out 
anchors in two directions brought one heavy 
penalty upon himself. There can be little doubt 
that his object in leaving his eldest son at Louvain 
was to conciliate the new Regent and to protect, 
if possible, the Netherland property. For the 
boy's personal safety he depended on the pro- 
tection of the University privileges. The result 
was the loss of the boy as well as the land. 



1570] The Exile 193 

I am very sorry to have to send your Grace grievous 
news [writes some unknown friend to Orange, Ant- 
werp, February 12, 1562], but as it has come to my 
knowledge, I must not leave your Grace uninformed. 
It is that the old Countess of Home wrote to me yes- 
terday that her mounted messenger saw your Grace's 
son in a pony waggon with his chamberlain, von Wilt- 
berg, riding from Lou vain towards Antwerp, and the 
plan was that he should proceed to Zealand and be 
sent to Spain with the first wind. Those of the 
University of Louvain protested, but nothing helped. J 

The rumour was speedily confirmed, for the 
Seignior de Chassy, attended by four officers and 
twelve archers, had, indeed, waited upon the 
young Count of Buren at Louvain and invited 
him to go to Spain to be educated for the King's 
service. De Chassy asserted that his duty was 
to escort, not arrest the youth, and that he might 
be accompanied by two valets, two pages, a cook, 
and a bookkeeper. Alva's pleasant note, written 
manu propria, signed "your friend, the Duke of 
Alva," offered Philip William of Nassau an oppor- 
tunity "to serve the King as his forbears had 
served Philip's ancestors." The youth seems to 
have walked into the trap with actual pleasure, 
accompanied his captors to Antwerp, enjoyed his 
stay with Count Lodron, accepted festivities given 
in his honour, embarked at Flushing unprotest- 
ingly, and sailed away for the land where he was 
destined to spend twenty years. 

1 Orange-Nassau family archives, The Hague. 



194 William the Silent C1568- 

The protests of "those of the University" at 
this base violation of its immunities were answered 
by Vargas in the same barbarous Latin phrases 
that he addressed to the municipalities, probably 
less critical of his Latinity: "Non curamos 
vestros privilegios" — "We do not care for your 
privileges." The Prince's negligence in leaving 
his son exposed is the more surprising and unjusti- 
fiable, because the kidnapping did not happen until 
at least a fortnight after Philip had published his 
specific arraignment of the Prince of Orange, 
leaving nothing to be inferred even from the 
treatment already accorded to Egmont and 
Home. On January 28th, a herald, escorted 
by six trumpeters, stood in the great square at 
Brussels and read aloud a summons requiring 
William of Nassau, Prince of Orange, etc., to 
appear before the Council of Troubles within 
three fortnights and there respond to the charge 
of being chief leader, promoter, and favourer of 
the rebels, while his brother, Louis, Hoogstraaten, 
and their adherents were also summoned as dis- 
turbers of the public peace. If the summons were 
disregarded, all those cited were condemned to 
perpetual banishment and confiscation of their 
estates. Orange was named as the real instigator 
of the confederates, as the responsible party for 
every action hostile to the King. At Antwerp, 
when acting ostensibly in the King's behalf, he 
had deliberately encouraged heresy and schism, 
etc., etc. 



15701 The Exile 1 95 

The justification of himself that Orange set 
about preparing and which he finally published 
on April 6th, is singularly like a modern letter 
to the press in tone. 1 Translated into German, 
Latin, Dutch, English and Spanish, it was spread 
broadcast over Europe. Forty-four pages long, 
the statement is a trifle more verbose than was 
needful to express the meaning. Repudiating 
all accusations of personal ambition, and still 
more of disloyalty, the Prince justifies every step 
he has taken, while he acknowledges that he had 
disapproved the rigour of his monarch's instruc- 
tions and had considered enforcement of the pla- 
cards unpolitic and tending to excite the reformers, 
religious persecution in all ages having had a 
stimulating; effect. He had never been a. con- 
federate, he had discountenanced all excesses of the 
Beggars, but at the same time he had approved 
their petitions. He had certainly desired the 
assembly of the States-General, a measure that 
the late Emperor had often considered expedient. 
Whenever he had differed from the Regent as to 
policy he had supported his views by arguments 
that seemed to him convincing. After defending 
certain other points, specifically, Orange sums up 
his attack on Alva's present procedure as follows : 

All of which is . . . directly to the prejudice of his 
Majesty, as all his promises, obligations, contracts, 

1 Apologie de Guillaume de Nassau — Justification, etc. Editor, 
A. Lacroix. 



196 William the Silent [1568- 

and oaths are disregarded, and such extraordinary, 
exorbitant, and odious things are done, that it is im- 
possible that the results will not be felt some day. 
We pray God to illumine his Majesty with divine 
light, and make him understand aright the actions 
of his good and loyal servitors and subjects, now 
calumniated, persecuted, and afflicted, so that the 
world may at last know that all that has happened 
does not proceed from his Majesty himself, but is 
due to the reports, defamations, and calumnies of 
those who up to now have concealed the truth from 
him. 

There are several noteworthy things about this 
document. In a literary sense it is not well 
written, but it is to the point, and restates 
what the Prince had said in his letters for the 
previous two years. He separates Philip, as 
far as possible, from the acts that have been 
committed in his name, and there are few of 
the superfluous protestations of fidelity to the 
person of the monarch which occur in all the 
Prince's earlier letters. But he does not yet 
throw off allegiance to his sovereign, nominally, 
at least. He blames the royal servants, and 
the easy credence given by Philip to mis- 
representations of his officials. For the first 
time in addressing the most Catholic King, there 
is no mention, whatsoever, of "our true and 
ancient religion." 

The note with which Orange sends this docu- 
ment to the Landgrave of Hesse is delightfully 



1570] The Exile 197 

characteristic. Desiring him to tell the bearer, 
Dr. John Meixnern, his views, he adds x : 

Especially I would ask your Excellency to let me 
or my councillor know whether he finds anything to 
criticise in the document concerning the Spaniards, 
for I am a little afraid that it is too ungracious. 
. . . Would your Excellency perhaps think it more ad- 
visable to direct the pamphlet entirely against the 
Duke of Alva ? Also I am not quite sure of that little 
word "kriegsriistung," — (war preparation.) Is that 
perhaps too hard and sharp, and likely to be under- 
stood as though we meant to undertake a war from 
wanton pleasure rather than for simple defence? 

By the spring of 1568, plans seemed fairly ripe 
for actual attack upon the Netherland provinces. 
The long processes of alliance with the Huguenots 
and of making friends in Germany — dating back 
to the time when a little present to George von 
Holl's wife was conceived as a tactful measure — 
had been so far successful that sufficient troops 
were levied to justify the opening of hostilities in 
a more definite form than was done by the futile 
and deplorable effort of the Seignior of Tholouse. 
Levies were made in Germany with no conceal- 
ment of the destination, and funds began to flow 
in from various sources. Orange sold jewels, 
plate, and furniture to get together his own con- 
tribution, which amounted to many thousand 
florins, while his brothers were generous to the 

1 Groen, iii., p. 209. 



198 William the Silent [1568- 

best of their means, John raising considerable 
sums by mortgages and Louis contributing 10,000 
florins. 

" t Three simultaneous attacks upon the Nether- 
lands were planned from the French and German 
frontiers. Two failed entirely and there was no 
sympathetic rising within, to compensate for the 
failure outside, the provinces. Count Louis and 
his followers alone met with some success. On 
April 24th he invaded Friesland with three thou- 
sand foot and three hundred horse, surprising the 
Duke of Aremberg, sent by Alva to defend the 
north from invasion. For nearly a month Louis 
held his own in Friesland, while he increased his 
small army by enrolling stragglers. Then he en- 
gaged with Aremberg's forces near the convent 
of Heiligerlee. It was a valiant fight and resulted 
not only in the complete defeat of Alva's troops, 
but in the death of the leader. On Louis's side 
there was one heavy loss. Count Adolph of 
Nassau met his death — at Aremberg's hand, it 
was said — and thus the first human sacrifice to 
the Netherland cause was offered on the part of 
the Nassau family. z 

1 Adolph, fourth son of William the elder, was born at Dillen- 
burg, July 16, 1540. His academic studies were completed at 
Wittenberg under Melanchthon, his first military campaigns were 
under the direction of the experienced George von Holl, then 
serving the King of Denmark, who took a great fancy to Adolph. 
Later the young Count was captain in the Emperor's service 
so that he had had considerable military experience and had seen 
something of life. In the Nassau family archives is to be found 




MONUMENT TO COUNT ADOLPH OF NASSAU ON HEILIGERLEE BATTLEFIELD 



1570] The Exile 199 

For the moment it looked as though the libation 
brought a fairer prospect. Louis finds himself 
with twenty-five ensign of foot soldiers, fairly 
well equipped, and two hundred horse, while 
captains and men-at-arms are flocking to his 
standard daily. 1 "As for money, that comes in 
too, but not in great abundance." He had 
special cause for congratulation from his capture 
of field pieces, among , which were six famous 
cannon called ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la. 

Alva was furious that his tried veterans should 
have been routed by untrained men under a 
stripling. He was resolved to trust no more to 
subordinates, but to take the field in person and 
wipe out this iniquitous rebellion with a firm 
hand. In order to clear the decks for action he 
first ordered the trials of Counts Egmont and 
Home to take place immediately. "Trial" is a 
perhaps too euphemistic word, for the proceedings 



a brief account of him entitled " Descriptio vita comitis Adolphi 
Nassovii. " There is also a suggestion that he, too, was hospitable, 
in the shape of an itemised bill for a banquet which Adolph 
gave in 1562, Barbara Mutzhagen furnishing the supplies. 
Twenty-one pounds of lamb do not seem dear at one thaler three 
and a half alb, though a little out of proportion for one and a 
half thaler, three alb for the sugar. Butter is cheap, six pounds 
for twenty-one alb. The bread consumed came to one thaler. 
Eighty quarts of wine sound abundant, to say the least. Its 
cost was six thalers, forty-eight alb. A thaler is about four 
shillings, while an alb is a penny. The exact value is difficult 
to appraise for any given time. 

1 Memorandum, Louis to Orange, May, 1568. Groen, iii., 
p. 227. 



200 William the Silent [1568- 

were conducted in an arbitrary fashion with no 
regard to precedent. The enormous mass of 
documents was never properly examined, though 
Alva solemnly (June 4th) declared that it was 
on the basis of this testimony that he pronounced 
judgment on the prisoners as accomplices of the 
arch traitor Orange, and as renegades from the 
true religion. 1 As a matter of fact the sentence 
of death that the Duke sent to the Council had 
been duly signed by Philip before Alva's depart- 
ure from Spain. On June 5th, the Duke actually 
assured the Countess of Egmont that her husband 
should go free on the morrow, thus enjoying his 
little private joke (en dreef er zyn spot mee), as 
Hooft says. And on the morrow he kept his word 
by sending out Egmont 's soul into the freedom 
of eternity. On the great square of Brussels the 
two men who had refused exile and tried to be 
faithful to their monarch, even while disapproving 
of his measures, were beheaded as base traitors, 
to the indignation of all Europe. 

In Louis's camp the first glow of success soon 
paled before the difficulty of providing for troops 
without funds. The voluntary contributions fell 
off and he had to resort to threats to increase the 
gifts, each one more unwilling than the preceding. 

1 The accusations against Home consisted of 63, against 
Egmont, of 88 articles. "The whole process is handled more 
clumsily than if a village judge had conducted it and no one 
pays any attention to the usual rules of procedure. " — Morillon 
to Granvelle. v. Raumer, Hist, of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth 
Centuries, Documents, i., p. 182. 



1570] 



The Exile 201 



The people knew that Alva was coming to avenge 
Aremberg and they were frightened by the pro- 
clamations affixed to the church doors, declaring 
that whoso gave to the rebels must pay twice as 
much to the Spaniards. 

The story cannot be followed. Its end was 
a foregone conclusion and the crushing defeat 
suffered was rather tamely described by Louis in 
a letter to one Taffin, a minister of the Reformed 
Church. 1 He acknowledges that his army is 
repulsed and dissipated but is thankful that the 
Prince is active with five thousand horse and 
eight thousand foot, and begs Taffin to hasten 
his business so that they might get ships upon 
the sea. The Prince wrote to his brother as 
follows 2 : 

July 31st. 
My brother: To-day I received your letter by 
Godfrey and have also heard what you commissioned 
him to say. As to the first point, be assured that I 
have never felt anything more than the pitiable 
success which you met on the 21st of the month, for 
many reasons which you can easily understand. 
This defeat increases the difficulty of the levy we 
have on foot, and has greatly chilled the hearts of 
those who might otherwise have given us aid. . . . 
With God's help I have determined to push ahead, and 
hope on the 8th of August to be on the spot for 
muster, at the place you agreed on with Ste. Aldegonde. 
I have written to the same effect to Count Joost de 

1 Groen, iii., p. 272. * Ibid., p. 276. 



202 William the Silent £J568- 

Schauenburg, desiring him to report there with his 
thousand horse, although I do not know exactly where 
he is at present, and fear, after what has happened, 
that he cannot easily arrive so soon. In case you 
know his whereabouts, tell him of this plan as soon 
as possible, since delay affects us all. As the report 
is current that the Duke of Alva wishes to keep us 
from our muster, I pray you remember to advise me 
whether he be still in Friesland, and what are his 
forces. In case you hear that he is going to the said 
place, please at once advise Balthasar von Wolff ven, 
whose house is not far from the Lippe, and also Otho 
of Maulsburgh, and this you may always do with any 
advices, for by sending me word first, intelligence 
might reach them too late. I cannot counsel you 
about your own plans, as I am ignorant of your re- 
sources and your information, and what naval forces 
the enemy may have. ... I can only say if you 
think you can achieve anything why do it in God's 
name, but I cannot heartily appprove your risking 
your person on the water. . . . 

This postscript follows: 

My brother, as I said above, watch the Duke of 
Alva closely. If he means, peradventure, to descend 
on the muster, you would do well to turn on Duke Eric 
of Brunswick. In case you find it possible to come 
to the said place of muster I should be very glad. 
We could then talk freely over affairs together. In 
case you cannot come, which [coming] I greatly de- 
sire, let me have daily news and keep in correspond- 
ence with the Count of Emden, and know from him 
what is going on there. 



1570] The Exile 203 

There was wonderful restraint and patience in 
these phrases, considering how every plan, every 
future movement was hampered by Louis's mis- 
fortune and that the incipient sympathy of the 
Germans had been chilled. The Emperor ordered 
Orange to cease his levies, while the lesser princes 
begged him to "sit still" and were unmoved by 
the continued letters and explanations which he 
addressed to one after another, reiterating his 
statements in his Justification. In France he 
found more efficient sympathy, and a fresh gage 
was thrown down in the shape of a joint proclama- 
tion issued in the names of Gaspar de Coligny, 
Admiral of France, and William of Nassau, Prince 
of Orange. 1 They declared that they joined 
forces to defend the liberty of conscience, attacked 
in France and the Netherlands, while they were 
still true to their respective sovereigns, "led 
astray by bad advisers." 

On August 31, 1568, the Prince issued a pro- 
clamation of his own as head of the army of about 
thirty thousand men which his herculean efforts 
had brought together. Some of his standards were 
decorated by a pelican feeding its young, others 
with the words, "Pro lege, grege, rege." These 
words may have been conceived as direct answer 

1 Groen, iii., p. 282. The French Protestants feared that Alva 
was executing only a part of a campaign against their religion 
recently decided upon with Catherine de' Medici at Bayonne, 
and that the next step would be suppression of the Huguenots 
by France and Spain together. 



204 William the Silent [1568- 

to Margaret's assertion that the people were " sans 
lot, sans foi, sans roi." They were certainly 
staunch to Orange's uniform policy of protesting 
loyalty to the King, against whom he was rais- 
ing the standard of revolt. Was it quixotic or 
purely sophistical? 

The army was raised, but there was terrible 
uncertainty as to its support. Urgent appeals 
for aid were scattered through the Netherlands, 
bearing Scripture verses at their head. * Orange 
made his way to the neighbourhood of Cologne 
and then on to the Meuse near Stochem. Alva 
was on the other side of the river, but in spite of 
his vigilance the Prince succeeded in getting his 
/men over unmolested. To stem the force of the 
current he had the cavalry stand in the stream 
and form a kind of dam to give protection to the 
men as they forded the river — an old device used 
by Caesar himself. 

Alva was completely taken by surprise, as he 
had declared that only a flock of wild geese could 
possibly cross the unbridged stream. But when 
he found that he was mistaken he changed his 
tactics. His skill lay in his ability to grasp a 
situation as it stood and never to be hampered by 
military formulas. In July, an engagement was 
absolutely necessary to him to retrieve the Span- 
ish prestige, injured by the affair of Heiligerlee. 
In October everything was different. The Duke 

1 ' ' The righteous shall never be removed but the expectation 
of the wicked shall perish." 



1570] The Exile 205 

had adequate shelter at his service, Orange had 
not a single city to fall back upon as winter quar- 
ters. Therefore Alva avoided any pitting of 
strength but used a Fabian policy with the delib- 
erate intention of holding the rebels at bay until 
cold, snow, ice, and dearth of provisions forced 
the troops without a base to yield their ground 
and seek shelter elsewhere. The Prince realised 
that an engagement was essential to him in order 
that confidence should be assured and enthusiasm 
aroused in the cause of the patriots — make his 
army patriots, indeed, instead of irresponsible 
rebels. But his efforts were in vain. The Duke 
succeeded in holding the exasperated invaders 
on tenterhooks and in forcing the Prince to change 
his camp twenty-nine times. He had, moreover, 
all the sails and stones removed from the mills 
and destroyed houses and even whole hamlets that 
might afford shelter. There was one little pitched 
battle near Waveren, when the Huguenot allies 
under Genlis tried to make a juncture with the 
Prince, but failed. Don Frederic, Alva's son, suc- 
ceeded in destroying three thousand men under 
Hoogstraaten. 

The Prince penetrated Brabant to within a few 
leagues of Brussels, but nothing came of his 
presence there. The towns were terrorised and 
even failed to furnish the three hundred thousand 
florins they had once promised. The Prince was 
left without the walls at the mercy of his unfed, 
unpaid mercenaries, who would not disband 



2o6 William the Silent 



[1568* 



without their pay, even though they had no 
shelter. Over the French border the Prince went, 
and made his way to Strasburg; and the reports 
went out that his fortunes were so impaired that 
they never could be mended. "The major part 
of his army are broken, starved, and cut to 
pieces,' ' wrote Alva to Philip. 

Wretched years of wandering and uncertainty 
followed this fruitless and expensive expedition. 
Orange stayed on French soil for the most part 
and continued to write lengthy explanatory 
epistles to the German princes. In July, 1869, he 
is at Conflans almost within view of the sea, as he 
says, and resolved to throw in his lot with the 
Huguenots, having definitely decided that the 
issue between the Netherlanders and their Spanish 
monarch was religious and of a nature that made 
a bond between anti-Catholics a natural alliance. 
It was an odd chance that kept Orange out of 
the pitched battles of his allies, as well as out of 
the actual important engagements of his own 
cause. On March 13th, occurred the battle of 
Jarnac, in which Louis of Nassau won the affection 
of the Huguenots for all time, while they did 
not win the victory. But the Prince himself 
played no part, not from the cowardice imputed 
to him, but because he was busied elsewhere in the 
harder task of trying to raise funds for his unpaid 
soldiers. 

They were terrible years for Orange out in the 
open, and trying years for the Nassau women, shut 



1570] The Exile 207 

up in Dillenburg castle, sometimes alone and some- 
times with Count John, all watching anxiously 
for the couriers who brought little good news, but 
many warnings to see to it that Dillenburg was 
well guarded, suggestions as to making saltpetre 
mines, etc., and requests, sometimes pitiful in 
their humble quality. 

I beg you to send [wrote Orange to John, Jan., 
1570] r by the bearer of this, the little hackney given 
me by the Admiral, in case he is in good condition. 
Send me also two pairs of silk trunk hose. Your 
tailor has one that Nuenar gave him to mend; the 
other pair please have taken from the things I re- 
cently used at Dillenburg, which are on the table 
with my accoutrements. If the little hackney is out 
of condition, please send me the grey drudge with the 
cropped ears. You may have noticed that Affer- 
stein begged me for a horse. Do look around and 
see if some good horse cannot be found and send it 
to me with the price and I will forward the money to 
you. Since he is so amiable, something ought to 
be done for him. Pray forgive me for troubling 
you with my affairs. I hope to repay you some 
time. 

Much of the Prince's correspondence during 
this period, 1568-72, was in cipher or half cipher. 
In certain letters between him and his confidential 
agent Wesembeck, the names of metals are used 
to designate the provinces, those of Greek deities 

1 Groen, iii., p. 342. 



208 . William the Silent [1568- 

and demigods to represent the cities. Rotter- 
dam was Triton, Brill, Pollux, etc. None of the 
elaborate plans lurking under these veils were, 
however, carried out. 

In all these schemes the Prince found not the 
slightest sympathy from his wife, whose story may 
be finished here. " Non deest principi Xantippe 
vel deferior" Cardinal Granvelle had written in 
1664. As a wife, Anne proved to be worse than 
the Greek scold. After months of unhappiness 
at Dillenburg she actually succeeded in raising 
sufficient funds to betake herself to Cologne and 
to set up an independent household there, where 
she found fresh cause for complaints to be shared 
with any relative who would hear her. One 
Volmar von Berlepsch came to her from the 
Elector and reports what she has said to him. 1 
She had always warned her husband against 
being involved in war with Spain, but he had 
turned a deaf ear to her counsels and now was 
nicely caught in the net woven for him by others, 
notably Louis of Nassau, whom she could not 
abide. Her husband and his brothers had spent 
all their ready money and sacrificed plate and 
jewels for the maintenance of soldiers who would 
never accomplish anything and were now clamour- 
ing for wages and threatening to hold the Prince 
prisoner until they were paid. She was poor 
enough. Orange had only given her two hundred 

1 Dresden archives, quoted by Bottiger. Hist. Taschenbuch, 
vii., p. 130. 



1570] The Exile 209 

and fifty crowns in nearly two years. She would 
be quite willing to live with him as count, as 
noble, or as plain citizen, but really it was unbear- 
able to have absolutely nothing in the world, to 
be expected to subsist on wind and to eat one's 
own hands and feet. She was just on the eve of 
her confinement and that was why she had come 
to Cologne. All the ladies in Dillenburg neglected 
her. Often she could not get a glass of common 
wine or beer, and sometimes days would pass 
without their coming to visit her in her apart- 
ments. She simply could not endure the thought 
of another six weeks' illness there. But there was 
still another reason that had caused her sudden 
journey. An epidemic had broken out at Dillen- 
burg and there was not one barber surgeon to be 
found in the whole Westerwald. How could she 
stay there? At Cologne there were a hundred 
and fifty Netherland gentlewomen with whom 
she could amuse herself during the ennui of her 
confinement. She had moreover taken care to 
provide herself with a learned pious preacher, a 
Netherland refugee, and she had nothing to fear 
from Spanish interference. She meant to live so 
that no ill reports of her could arise. She had not 
a stuiver and was overwhelmed with debt, but 
poverty-stricken as she was, she simply would 
not go back to Dillenburg without her husband. 
She would die first. Why could not the house at 
Dietz be repaired, etc., etc? All her plaints might 
have been those of any selfish wife to any husband 
14 



210 William the Silent [1568- 

engaged in a cause which the wife considered 
already lost. 

Berlepsch testifies that her table was not 
extravagant, although forty- three persons were 
fed at it. His advice is that Anne should return 
to her husband's family. Shortly after this Emilie 
was born — the last child of Anne and the Prince. 
Then a long discussion ensues between Anne's 
various relatives. Recriminations fly back and 
forth but Anne receives little sympathy. As her 
uncle mentions to her John's remark that she is 
" stiff-necked," his counsel to return to Dillen- 
burg naturally does not meet Anne's approval, 
and at Cologne she remains. In desperation over 
her poverty she finally determines to recover her 
confiscated property at any price and she appeals 
to Philip himself, pleading that, by her husband's 
refusal to answer the summons of his monarch, 
the Prince of Orange has suffered civil death. In 
the eyes of the Netherland law he was a dead 
man; ergo on Netherland soil she was a widow, 
ergo the Netherland estates were hers, etc. The 
answer from Spain to this astounding plea was 
that she was no widow, but the aider and abettor 
of rebels. She had sold her plate to help 
her husband and was thus a culprit under the 
law. 1 

1 v. Rommel, Philipp der Grossmiithige, ii., p. 66o, states that 
this plea that Orange was legally dead — civiliter mortuum — 
was made. Bottiger could not find the document but con- 
siders the statement true. 



.far v^y "' pg~ -**?£ >^ &^*% ' 
**y^fc^ ft* /fr^ *&~ -^ -^ 

-^f fkS^... /v^^-^vCU 

FAC-SIMILE OF LETTER FROM ANNE OF SAXONY. 



T570] 



The Exile 211 



In November, 1569, Orange sent the following 
letter to Anne : 

My wife : I have seen by your letters, and heard 
from our secretary, the reasons why you have not 
come to meet me, and I do not find them sufficient, 
considering the duty and obligations a wife owes her 
husband, in case she bears him the slightest affec- 
tion. When you say that you have promised your- 
self never again to be found in this land, you ought 
to consider that you promised before God and his 
Church to abandon everything in the world to cleave 
to your husband, and I think you should have this 
more at heart than all other trifles and frivolities, 
if you have any idea of your responsibility. These 
words are not intended to persuade you to come 
hither. Since you dislike that, I will not press it, 
but they are to remind you of your obligation, as I 
am in duty bound to do. 

When a man is immersed in difficulties, there is 
nothing in the world that would give him greater re- 
freshment of spirit than to be comforted by his wife, 
and see her bear her cross with patience, especially 
when her husband is suffering for his efforts to ad- 
vance the glory of God, and win the liberty of his 
country. Then, too, there are so many things to 
say to you which are unsafe to write, without endan- 
gering my life and honour. It seems to me that if you 
felt the slightest friendship for me, you would be 
governed more by your heart than by frivolous pre- 
texts. I will not lay further stress on the fact that 
we are giving every one an opportunity to talk about 
our private affairs, but will leave you to judge whether 



212 William the Silent [1568- 

such publicity is pleasing to me. I promise you that if 
you had asked me to meet you at Frankfort instead of 
Siburg, which is in the very midst of my enemies, 
nothing would have kept me from acceding to your 
proposition, so anxious am I to see you, though all 
my officers and friends implore me to avoid cities, 
because of the great danger to which I expose myself. 

Do you not see, my wife, that you who are my 
spouse, leave me to find consolation in trouble from 
others who are not so near me? I notice, too, that 
you advise me to go to France or England. I wish, 
indeed, that French affairs were in a state to warrant 
our going thither safely, for then the unfortunate 
Christians would be better off than they are now. 
But you may be sure that if God in his mercy does not 
give some remedy, the poor Christians in France will 
be worse off than those in the Netherlands. If the 
King treats his subjects so harshly, what would he do 
to strangers? So you see what prospect there is of a 
retreat there. 

In regard to England, there are reasons which I 
cannot write, but I assure you, when you hear them, 
you will lose your desire to go thither. Our affairs 
are in such a state that it is no longer a question of our 
deciding upon a place of residence, the point is rather 
who will receive us. In both towns and republics I 
imagine that they will think more than twice before 
giving me shelter, as would the Queen of England, 
Kings of Denmark and Poland, and all the German 
princes. I do not speak here of you, but of myself, 
because I am out of favour with the Emperor. 

After all, there would have been little to say about 
this particular point, even if I had seen you, and in 
the most secret way, for all my gentlemen and friends 






1570] The Exile 213 

agree in this opinion, that, since my movements com- 
mence to be a public matter, it is better for me not 
to stop in any one place, but be here to-day, to- 
morrow there. . . . 

1 would have been glad enough of the relief of see- 
ing you, if only for a few days. ... I am off to- 
morrow. Concerning my return, or when I can see 
you, on my honour I can now tell you nothing for 
certain. . . . You may be sure that your affairs will 
never go so well that better cannot be desired, and 
nothing would please me more than to see you 
contented. x 

In February, 1570, Anne writes 2 : 

Friendly dear sir: The reason why I did not 
answer yours of Dec. 14th, your secretary will tell 
you, together with other things that I commissioned 
him to report. In answer to your request that I 
should appoint some place where we could meet, 
since you do not wish to come in the neighbourhood 
of the Netherlands, I do not know any better place 
than Leipsic. I meant to visit the Elector about this 
time anyway, as I have not seen him for nine years. 
I will take my way to Leipsic, which ought to be con- 
venient for you, as I hear that you are not far from 
there. Or if you like it better, come to Braubach 
with Landgrave Philip. I know of no better and 
more convenient places than in the lands of my two 
cousins, and I believe you will be perfectly safe. Let 
me know which of these two places you prefer, so I 
can write to the Landgrave Philip and ask him to 

^his letter is slightly condensed. Groen, iii., pp. 327, 352. 

2 Ibid., p. 354. 



214 William the Silent [1568- 

lend us his house, for I never again will go near any 
of your friends. If you go on urging me to do so, I 
shall consider it a proof that you wish my death. 

Again, on April 6th, she writes 1 : 

Friendly dear sir: I have received your letter and 
message from T'Serraets — I cannot believe what you 
write concerning your desire to see me, for you have 
not acted at all in accordance with your words. In 
respect to the place that you wish me to come to, 
which I am to reach in three days, it is not at all con- 
venient for me, and I do not know how to get the 
means of travelling to join my lord and relations. 
You write that you are unable to send me money, but 
I have noticed that you do not care much about help- 
ing me. You know better than I whether you could 
or not. As I cannot get what belongs to me from 
you and your relations, I must appeal to my friends 
to get means of sustenance. For I see I need not 
expect any good from you and I do not wish to be 
called a disgrace to, and ruin of, the House of Nassau, 
which I can rightfully call my disgrace and ruin. 
As to your saying that when I come to you I had 
better leave my anger at Cologne, I have never been 
angry at you or yours, except with just cause. Our 
meeting will probably be the cause of increasing my 
just anger instead of diminishing it, if you expect to 
go on in your old way. As it does not please you to 
come to any of the four places I have named, I must 
bear it patiently. For my part I cannot go to the 
place you appoint, so I commend you to God's pro- 

1 Groen, iii., p. 367. 



1570] The Exile 215 

tection, and hope He will treat you better than you 
have me. 

The meeting between the two is continually 
delayed. The Prince seems to try to be pa- 
tient, and in a letter written in May he still 
addresses this trying helpmate as " Ma mie" 
and at last they meet at Siegen. Probably the 
meeting was their last. 

Anne had found other amusement in Cologne 
besides the conversation of the one hundred and 
fifty Dutch gentlewomen. Dr. John Rubens, 
father of the painter, a lawyer from the Nether- 
lands, had pleased her fancy and responded to her 
flattering advances. Though he had a very high- 
minded and devoted wife of his own, he actually 
followed the Princess to Siegen and there in March, 
1 57 1, Orange forced him to confess his intimacy 
with Anne. According to the existing laws of the 
land, the Nassaus had perfdct right to put Rubens 
to death. For a time Anne protests her innocence. 
On March 22nd she writes to Orange declaring 
that Rubens — already arrested — had perjured 
himself and had said that he was her lover simply 
out of fear of torture. She continues : 

If you fell into the hands of the Duke of Alva, which 
God forbid, you, too, would confess that white were 
black. So he cannot be too severely blamed for what 
he said nor should my honour be suspected from it [his 
confession], for usually unfair questions receive false 
answers, as has just happened to you. . . . Secondly 



216 William the Silent [1568- 

as to the aforesaid doctor's statement that you will be 
convinced by letters, — that cannot be, for it can 
never be shown that I have written other than as 
becomes an honourable woman. Thirdly, you assert 
that you have witnesses of my fault in my servants. 
God in Heaven! What falsehood it would be to 
testify what I never thought of ! Any one could see 
the falsity, for if I had so far forgotten myself, — 
which God forbid, — I think I would hardly have called 
in witnesses. How one sometimes admits into one's 
house beasts worse than dragons or lions! ... I 
would like to know the names of such witnesses. I 
could easily answer them. ... I have examined my 
conscience closely and find myself innocent of all the 
dishonour you accuse me of and my children will 
suffer no contempt on my account. 1 

The matter has, however, gone too far to be 
hushed up. Three days later Anne is convinced 
of this and writes to Rubens in quite a different 
spirit 2 : 

... I am rejoiced to hear from your letter that 
you have acknowledged the great sin that we have 
committed and that you have thrown yourself on 
God's mercy for death or life. I have been troubled 
lest you would not realise that this was best and that 
I would be responsible for your ruin, body and soul, 
but God has relieved me of this anxiety. As to me, 
I have confessed to-day before God and the world 
and do not doubt that God in his mercy will forgive 
me. I have also confessed to my lord and spouse 
that I have grossly and deeply sinned and implored 

1 Groen, iii., 387. * Ibid., p. 391. 



1570] The Exile 217 

his forgiveness for God's sake and I do not doubt that 
he, in accordance with his innate goodness, will not 
make full use of his power. He has already given 
evidence of this to you and me. For had he pro- 
ceeded according to his rights he would not have 
treated with you or me as he has already done, so I 
hope that Almighty God will inspire him further with 
His holy spirit and induce him to evince more mercy 
and to grant you your life, which I heartily desire, so 
that you may join your wife and children. My 
conscience is not a little heavy that I have given your 
wife such ill reward for the services she has rendered 
me. Herewith I commend you to God whom I im- 
plore to comfort you with His spirit and to keep us 
from such sins as we have committed. 

Anna von Sachsen. 
Siegen, March 25, 157 1. 

Rubens ventured to beg for no further mercy 
than that his death should be by the sword. This 
was contemptuously denied him, but he was 
allowed to linger on in confinement. The fact 
is, it was probably clear to the Nassaus that Anne 
was the guilty one, and that it would have been 
impossible for any one of Rubens' s rank to have 
approached her had not she made all the over- 
tures herself, when he was managing her legal 
affair. 

At this time Orange was at Dillenburg. He 
wrote to John, April 9th, upon the subject, 
expressing a fervent hope that the mortifying 
affair might be kept quiet. That was his main 
concern. On May 13th Anne humbled herself 



218 William the Silent [1568- 

so far as to appeal once more to John, whom she 
had disliked so long and so fervently. 

Well-born dear brother: I cannot refrain from 
applying to your Excellency about the well-known 
matter and asking what has been decided, as I am 
most anxious for a decision. I sit here in pain worse 
than the torments of hell and my one anxiety is to 
know certainly what is to be done, in order that I may 
act accordingly and try whether in the other world 
there be as little pity for me as in this. For I find 
none from God or man. Your Excellency writes me in 
your last letter that the decision rests with my lord and 
my friends. It is evident that it depends on my lord 
and not on my friends, for I am sure the Landgrave 
will not assume any responsibility because I would not 
follow the advice of my blessed grandfather in regard 
to my marriage. He will not be in a hurry to punish 
me for my folly, when he was so slow in helping me in 
my need. As to the Elector, if he is to be told, I am 
lost, and shall then ask no further grace than that I 
shall not have more trouble in this world as I hope 
soon to be in another. So I implore as earnestly as 
I can that this affair may not be brought to the 
Elector and that my honour may be saved . . . and 
that I may not have reason to complain at the last 
judgment that entering into a marriage with the 
Prince of Orange was the reason for losing property, 
honour, body and soul. [She implores in various phrases 
that the matter be kept secret] ... I have con- 
fessed all to you, although I might have concealed it 
and the witnesses would have to be sought far and 
if they were there I could easily prove that they were 
not trustworthy [und die dar waren das soldt ich 



1570] The Exile 219 

leichtlich haben keonnen beiweiszen das sie zu keinem 
rechte recevabel war en], but I wanted to confess my 
sins, hoping that my lord, when he heard that I had 
poured out all from the bottom of my heart without 
finesse, would be merciful, and I beg your Excellency 
to lend a hand to this forgiveness and I hope that 
your Excellency and my lord too will remember that 
we are all human beings and that such experiences 
might have happened and might still happen to his 
Excellency and to your Excellency. I commend 
your,Excellency to God's protection and beg a speedy 
answer for I am worried to death. Dutum Siegen. 
May 13, 1571. 1 

Your Ex. well-wishing sister, 
Anna g. H. z. Sachsen, 

Princessin zu Uranien. 
A Monsieur Monsieur le 
Comte Jan de Nassau. 

The letter is not pleasant reading, with its 
frightened, grudging humility, but the poor 
Princess was in sorry straits. She did not care 
for the public affairs, to which she felt that she 
had been sacrificed. That no one cared for her, 
she thought was due to the world's injustice, and 
not to her own delinquencies. 

For three years she remained in Nassau, dwelling 
at Beilstein, a living disgrace and heavy burden 
to her husband's family. Her children were re- 
moved from her charge and brought up by Count 
John, who watched over the details of their 

1 Groen, iii., p. 397. 



220 William the Silent [1568- 

education with loving, parental care, so that they 
grew to have a more familiar affection for him 
than for their less known, absent father. Many 
letters passed between Anne's uncle and brother- 
in-law regarding the unfortunate mother. On 
February 26, 1572, William of Hesse wrote in a 
paper of instructions: 

Whenever men forget God and follow the Devil 
nothing else is to be expected than' is taught by the 
Old and New Testaments and confirmed by heathen 
writings and daily experience. My niece knows 
how we begged her, -not only as an uncle, but as a 
father, to refrain from speaking contemptuously of 
God, the Master, and to be diligent in prayer and in 
reading of the Holy Writ. We also advised her to 
show due respect to her husband, who was not forced 
upon her, but whom she took voluntarily, against 
the wish of our father of blessed memory. We urged 
her, moreover, to conduct herself with the honour and 
dignity behooving a princess, according to good old 
German usage; we warned her to beware of light, 
foreign customs with their idle show, and to hold fast 
to praiseworthy German manners, and especially to 
be very chary of entertaining strangers in her own 
apartments. Had she followed this counsel she 
would not now be under so heavy a cloud. 1 

The Elector of Saxony attempted no defence of 
his niece. He had been too well informed of her 
eccentricities to be surprised that Anne's character 
had gone from bad to worse. But he stoutly 

1 Bakhuizen, p. 129. 



1570] The Exile 221 

asserted that the Prince was far more at fault 
than the Princess. Orange had not entered upon 
the marriage in the right spirit, but had said 
flippantly that he would rather have his wife read 
romances than the Bible. Now he was reaping 
his reward for such light-mindedness. Anne was 
a modest, well brought up young girl when 
entrusted to him. He had not taken proper care 
of her. No wonder that she had gone wrong, 
etc. 

It was natural that Anne's uncle should blame 
some one for the deterioration of the girl's char- 
acter, but her fantastic, undisciplined behaviour 
during ten years had been too notorious for the 
Prince to be touched by these words of condemna- 
tion. Anne's mind was unbalanced from her 
girlhood, an unrestrained habit of wine-drinking 
at all hours of the day increased her peculiarities, 
and insanity was the not unnatural result. 

During the years that she remained under the 
care of Count John, it became increasingly dif- 
ficult to find any servants to stay with her, no 
matter at what wages. Her conduct was so 
violent that her maids were often in danger of 
their lives, while in her quieter moments she, 
poor thing, often wished herself dead, a wish that 
was probably echoed by all her relatives and 
connections. So little real sympathy did the 
Elector evince for her that, in 1572, he proposed 
to the Landgrave William to have her locked up 
alone in a room where her only communication 



222 William the Silent [1568-1570] 

with the world should be by a grated window, 
through which her daily food could be given her, 
and a preacher could offer her spiritual consola- 
tion. Meanwhile the report could go abroad that 
she was dead and no denial need be made. x 

This inhuman proposition was not carried out 
at the time, and the Princess dragged on her 
existence at Beilstein. 

In 1575, the correspondence about her was 
renewed. The Elector and Landgrave finally con- 
sented to resume the ungrateful charge of her 
person. Anne was taken to Dresden, and her 
uncle actually put into execution the plan he had 
formerly suggested to the Landgrave. She was 
incarcerated in a dungeon, fed through a slit, and 
a preacher expounded the true doctrine to her 
daily. As her mind was entirely gone by that 
time, it may be assumed that his were but idle 
words. Life lasted long after all else was gone, 
and the poor Princess lived for two years in a 
dreary state of living death. At last, on Decem- 
ber 18, 1577, in the thirty-third year of her age, 
Anne of Saxony died, raging mad. On the fol- 
lowing day this most wretched "Great Elector's 
daughter" was buried at Meissen, in the tomb of 
her ancestors, followed thither by a long proces- 
sion of "school children, clergy, magistrates, no- 
bility, and citizens." 

1 Groen, v., p. 195. 



CHAPTER XI 

THE CAPTURE OF THE BRILL AND AFTER 
1572-1573 

THE wretched incidents of Anne's disloyalty 
probably did not affect the Prince's affections 
very deeply, but they must have been unpleasant 
blurs in the midst of years already full of one 
disappointment after another before there came 
a happy turn in public affairs. 

By virtue of his independent principality held 
"by grace of God," Orange had assumed the 
sovereign right to establish a navy and to issue 
letters of marque to Dutch vessels manned by 
men, some discontented with Spanish rule, some 
only at odds with their lot in life. Known as 
"Beggars of the sea" these sailors speedily made 
the term synonymous with pirates, from their 
lawless behaviour. Rules of conduct to be 
observed on the little fleet, as issued by the 
Prince, were excellent, but unfortunately they 
were regulations only honoured in the breach, 
and the behaviour of the wild sea-rovers be- 
came more and more disgraceful with every 

223 



224 William the Silent [1572- 

day of their sailing, and with each descent they 
made on the coast. In April, 1570, Coligny's 
elder brother wrote to Orange, advising him 
entirely to suspend all "commissions" hitherto 
issued by himself and Count Louis, so serious 
were the many charges against the vessels that 
carried his flag. x The Prince followed the advice. 
When he issued fresh commissions and made his 
new appointments he endeavoured to institute 
rigid reforms. The code of conduct was re- 
enacted, and every craft was ordered to carry a 
minister of the gospel, but still the discipline con- 
tinued to fall short of the standard; the new 
regimen was disregarded as the old one had been, 
and each individual vessel dodged along the coast 
much at its own sweet will. 

In October, 1571, Orange appointed William 
de Lumey, Baron de la Marck, as " admiral." It 
was the Prince's third appointment to that office, 
the first two incumbents having retired with fair 
fortunes of their own after contributing nothing 
to the general cause but a share of their own 
questionable reputation. Some aid had been 
given the "Beggars" by Protestants and anti- 
Spaniards along the Netherland coasts, but as a 
matter of fact, their coming had been dreaded in 
the seaboard villages even by the Prince's 
sympathisers, and the rigorous efforts of Alva to 
suppress their depredations and piratical raids 
were fully justified. 

1 Groen, iii., 373. 



15731 Capture of the Brill and After 225 

The harbourage enjoyed more or less openly 
by his rebel Netherlanders in English ports was 
greatly resented by Philip. As early as July 17, 
1568, his ambassador to England, Guzman de 
Silva, wrote : 

I thought well to speak to the Queen and tell her 
clearly what was passing. I did this and said that 
it was two months since I had told her that the 
rebels were taking refuge here and at that time I had 
not cared to say anything about the way in which 
they were sheltered, thinking it best to leave to her 
as a friend to determine what was her most fitting 
course. z 

Probably at the bottom of his heart the Spaniard 
knew that this alleged confidence in the lady was 
resting on shaky foundations. Rumours of Spanish 
intrigue in favour of Mary Stuart were indeed 
quite sufficient to turn Elizabeth from fraternal 
interest in her "brother of Spain" to hospitable 
concern for his revolted subjects' welfare. Then 
again certain considerations of policy would 
arouse conscientious scruples in her breast about 
the validity of a nobleman's sovereign rights to 
commission ships of war, and she would order 
all craft carrying the flag of the Prince of Orange 
to be treated as unlicensed pirates. This was less 
hampering to the rebels than it might have been 
because the merchants in the English seaports 
cheerfully evaded the royal prohibition to furnish 

1 Calendar of State Papers (Spanish), 1568-1579, p. 54. 
is 



226 William the Silent [1572- 

supplies, and the cruising ' 'Beggars" found no 
difficulty in spending the money dropped into 
their wallets as contributions to the cause of 
revolt or as accumulations from the "reprisals" 
on Spanish merchantmen. x 

In the course of these years Anglo-Spanish 
relations were often very strained. Philip's am- 
bassador, De Silva, was replaced by Guereau de 
Spes. "Lies are afloat everywhere in regard to 
Flanders," wrote the new envoy to the King when 
he paused at Paris en route to his post. 2 On his 
arrival in London he finds continued difficulty in 
separating truth from falsehood, so he reports all 
he hears to let the King make his own deductions. 
His lengthy, gossippy budgets are filled with 
rumours. In these voluminous despatches there 
are frequent mentions of the piratical "Beggars," 
of their infamous theology with its dangerous 
tendency towards recognising even Mohammedan- 
ism, of their nefarious plots, together with details 
of their resources and their allies, with many 
insinuations of England's bad faith. "If the 
Queen has the understanding you claim she has 
with the princes of Germany to induce them to 

1 "The pirates are better supplied than ever before. A man 
of mine has come back from France where they are and says that 
M. de Lumbres went to France mainly to beg Count Ludovic 
[Louis of Nassau] not to allow M. de Lumey to take the first 
place as there was great division among the gentlemen now at 
Dover upon the subject." — Oct. 31, 1571, Guereau de Spes to 
Alva, Calendar of State Papers (Spanish), p. 347. 

2 Calendar of State Papers (Spanish), p. 68. 



15731 Capture of the Brill and After 227 

arm and co-operate in an attack on my Nether- 
lands, it will be a decided proof that she is my 
enemy," comments Philip sagely on some of this 
information. 1 He adds: "Watch and write to 
me and to Alva, as you see how important it is to 
the interests of the States." One of these letters 
from England bears the endorsement in the King's 
writing: "It is not well to express an opinion 
about any one or to put more in a letter than is 
necessary. They or the cipher might be lost." 

Philip found it good to dismiss the English 
ambassador in Spain, John Maflfc* After some 
little lapse of time Elizabeth decided to take that 
as a grievance, and De Spes was informed that 
he was no longer a persona grata at her court. 

I cannot stay longer [he writes Dec. 21, 157 1] as I 
am ordered to Canterbury there to await the return of 
my servant [sent to get travelling expenses from 
Alva] on the excuse that John Ma*§ was served in 
that way in Spain, for they are very unfortunately 
harping on that business. 

No successor was appointed. Thus in March, 
1572, when Lumey sailed away from England, 
there was a definite breach in the Anglo-Spanish 
diplomatic relations and it certainly was not to 
please Philip that Elizabeth ordered her ports 
cleared of Netherland ships, as has been fre- 
quently stated, when the story of later events 
is recounted. 

1 Feb. 28, 1569, Calendar, etc., pp. 122 and 113. 



228 William the Silent [1572- 

The Beggars' fleet was making for the north 
when a head wind decided them to take shelter 
in the mouth of the Maas. Then, favoured by 
some chance advantage they made a successful 
descent on the little town of Brill on the island 
of Voorne and wrested it from the Spanish garri- 
son. ' ' The Guese have taken the Brill in Holland, 
which is the best haven in that coast: they took 
in the towen with force, but use no force that we 
here," is one simple despatch sent to England. 1 

Now undoubtedly there had been many 
projects to capture some Netherland seaboard 
town. The rebels sorely needed a base such as 
La Rochelle was for the Huguenots before they 
could extend their operations. One eligible place 
after another had been discussed as weak enough 
to be captured or as having citizens who would 
connive at a forced change of allegiance. Designs 
on Sluis are referred to in one of the ambassador's 
letters, 2 of October 15, 1571, and on April 15th 
he states that he had foreseen the assault on the 
Brill. No scheme of attack was, however, actually 
perfected and at the moment of the capture there 
was certainly an element of chance in the success 
of the venture and then circumstances favoured 
what had long been thought desirable. The tide 
was taken at the flood. 

1 Rel. pol. des Pays-has et d'Angleterre, vi., p. 365. 

2 Calendar of State Papers (Spanish), pp. 348, 380. Mr. Hume 
lays more stress on the intention than seems fully justified from 
any authorities given. See his Philip II. 



1573] Capture of the Brill and After 229 

The news of Lumey's attack was carried to the 
town council of the Brill, who summoned Kop- 
pelstock, the ferryman, to give them information 
on the strength of the invaders. This man was 
sufficiently in sympathy with the rebels to ex- 
aggerate the force on the ships. The corporation, 
impressed with its own weakness in comparison 
with the strength imputed to the assailants, de- 
cided that discretion was the better part of valour 
and the city keys were forthwith delivered to 
Lumey in behalf of the Prince of Orange. The 
rebels then had a solid tower on which to float 
the standard of revolt and the Orange flag was 
raised with jubilation. This was April 1, 1572. 

Meanwhile, within the Netherlands, certain 
administration measures had prepared the way 
for a change of allegiance not only in the Brill but 
elsewhere. Alva had not liked his post. Several 
times he had asked to be relieved and just so 
often had Philip refused his request. In 1570, 
the Duke had tried to make peace with the 
Netherlanders by virtue of a general pardon. 
The document was read aloud in the Grande 
Place in Brussels, rejoicings were ordered and 
actually participated in by the obedient and 
careless populace before it was realised that the 
phrases really signified nothing, that no one was 
pardoned except those who had not sinned openly 
against Church or Spanish authority, and that 
there was still no place, whatsoever, within the 
provinces for any one of Protestant faith. There 



230 William the Silent [1572- 

was no general agitation, however, until the 
beginning of this year of 1572, when the Duke 
took steps to enforce the collection of certain 
taxes instituted in 1569, but never actually levied. 
In his legislation Alva disregarded the dearest 
provincial privilege — that of controlling its own 
financial grants. Granvelle had assured Philip 
in 1559 that any attempt to impose a tax like 
the Alcabala of Spain would be deeply resented in 
the Netherlands. But it was an imitation of that 
same arbitrary tax, the Alcabala, that the Duke 
adopted. Instead of the aides furnished by the 
town to the sovereign, aides which always pre- 
served the colour of being voluntary contribu- 
tions, even when given most reluctantly, Alva's 
proposition provided that the following regular 
taxes should be raised in behalf of the central 
government : 

1. A tax of one per cent. — the hundredth 
penny — on all property, real and personal, for 
immediate collection. 

2. A tax of five per cent, on every real estate 
transfer. 

3. A tax of ten per cent. — the tenth penny — on 
every article of merchandise every time it changed 
hands. x 



1 In Spain there was so little buying and selling that this so- 
called Alcabala levied on exchange was endured. With the 
frequent exchange of a commercial nation it would have been 
unendurable. If an article changed hands seven times, the tax 
would be sevenfold upon it. 




ROYAL MEDAL 




BEGGARS MEDAL 




ALLEGORY, REPRESENTING THE COMINC 
The Netherlands personified as Andromeda. The Prince of Orange appears as Per 

and others are in the foreground. At th 




PRINCE OF ORANGE. (From an engraving of 1572.) 
escue her from the monster who wears the Spanish arms, 
re the individual provinces with their arms. 



The heads of Egmont, Horn, 



1573] Capture of the Brill and After 231 

The first tax was bad enough because the land 
was poor, but the second and third aroused bit- 
terer antagonism because the ultimate effect was 
dreaded. Petition after petition was presented 
and the whole matter was postponed from month 
to month and it was not until the year of 1572 
that the Duke determined to permit no further 
delay, but to insist on the fulfilment of the orders. 

The result of the attempt to execute his com- 
mands was an intense indignation that turned 
public sentiment at last towards the exiles who 
had been vainly begging for co-operation for four 
years . ' ' If we only had funds now, ' ' wrote Orange , 
February 17, 1572, "we could, with God's aid, 
accomplish something." 1 Watching as he did 
from a distant vantage ground with many eyes 
at his service, the Prince perceived that this de- 
termined attack on the traffic of a commercial 
people might be a potent factor in driving them 
on to the just rebellion he had desired for five 
years. It was in the midst of this agitation that 
the capture of the Brill took place, and the 
Prince's standard was raised in his name as 
stadtholder of Holland and Zealand. It was a 
very illogical proceeding but the fiction fulfilled 
its purpose. 

"No es nada" "It is nothing," said Alva, when 
the events at the Brill were reported to him. "Ah, 

1 Groen, iii., p. 411. A terrible flood, too, in West Friesland 
caused great misery in this year It is described in a quaint 
little pamphlet in The Hague Collection. 



232 William the Silent U572- 

les sots, Us se sont trop hates'' "The fools, they 
were too hasty," exclaimed Louis of Nassau; 
while Orange himself does not seem to have been 
perfectly satisfied. But the Prince speedily ac- 
cepted the advantage won, opportunist as he was, 
and used every means in his power to cloak the 
spreading disaffection with a decent show of legiti- 
macy. Town after town, roused as the people 
were by the burning injustice of the unpopular 
tax — declared in favour of the ex-stadtholder. 
Orange showered letters upon each and every one, 
and used specific arguments to secure their alle- 
giance. Louis, too, forgave the haste he had 
criticised, and Alva found that it was by no means 
a circumstance to be annihilated by a phrase. 
"For despite he teareth the heires of his hedd," is 
another report of his sentiments. 

The shifting of authority in the Brill did not 
pass without serious blots on the good name of 
the patriots. Reprisals were made and revenge 
was taken for the actions of the Council of Blood. 
The story of Lumey's treatment of certain devoted 
priests and monks of Gorcumwho remained faithful 
to their Church and their King, shows how little 
the theory of persecution was confined to the one 
side. The Gorcum victims of the Beggars' cruelty 
reached the last stage of canonisation as martyred 
saints in 1867 and have been commemorated with 
an appreciative hand by a Dutch historian. x 

1 Their memories are still warmly cherished to-day. Their 
bones have been transferred to Brussels and rest in a shrine 



15731 Capture of the Brill and After 233 

There were several other instances of the 
invaders' barbarous retaliation for Alva's long 
series of judicial murders 1 but when the Prince 
asserted his authority the most rigorous efforts 
were made to enforce fair treatment. And there 
was no great delay before Orange resumed the 
office of Stadtholder of Holland, Zealand, and 
Utrecht that he had formally resigned five years 
previously, calmly ignoring the fact that his liege 
lord of Spain had taken him at his word and had 
placed Maximilian de Hennin, Count van Bossu, 
in the legally vacated chair. There is really a 



in the church of St. Nicholas honoured with ever-burning 
candles (1910), while the ancient Holy Well just outside of the 
Brill at whose edge the execution is said to have taken place, is 
identified with their miracles and there is a constant stream of 
pilgrims thither. See Fruin, De Gorcumsche martelaren, Ver- 
spreide Geschriften, ii., p. 277. 

1 For instance William de la Marck assured six captains that 
he would treat them as gentlemen, not as the Huguenots were 
treated in France. So he gave them time to make their peace 
and then beheaded three for Count Egmont and three for Count 
Home. That was in the course of warfare. Other more inno- 
cent victims suffered cruelly, simply because they were steadfast 
to their faith. 

In regard to a rhyme rendered into English as 
"In April on All Fools' Day 
Duke Alva's specs were stole away," 
Fruin has pointed out that this and similar rhymes made on Alva 
and his Brill — the latter being understood as spectacles,rest on a 
misconception of the first jokes about it. He takes "Brill" as 
meaning a kind of yoke or bridle. On the first of April Duke Alva 
had a bridle set on his nose, — "Brill "being apiece of wood used to 
tame a bull. Lumey had a picture of such a yoke on his standard. 
Alva's Brill, ibid, viii., p. 373. 



234 William the Silent [1572- 

ludicrous element in the action and in the show 
of legality assumed by the exile and by an assembly 
of the disaffected nobles and cities which met, suc- 
cessively at Dordrecht, Rotterdam, and Delft in 
July. 1 The theory that these deputies, convened 
as a kind of committee of safety, were the Estates 
of Holland, proved a good working hypothesis; 
and certain decisions were adopted which formed 
a practical basis for the executive conduct of 
affairs without reference to the legitimate governor 
of the Netherlands, Alva. The self -convened 
deputies were in session and had already had some 
discussion when Marnix appeared before them on 
July 19th, as the Prince's commissioner, and made 
a clear, eloquent statement in his behalf. The 
result was that on the following day the Estates 
resolved that they recognised his princely Grace, 
the Prince of Orange, as lieutenant of the King 
over Holland, Zealand, West Friesland, and 
Utrecht, just as his Excellency had been previously 
appointed thereto legally by his royal Majesty, 
without prejudice to any of the customs and 
rights of the land. 

Further, it was declared that as one of the 
chief members of the States-General of the Neth- 
erlands, Orange was the natural person to resist 

1 The status of this assembly has been discussed by Kluit, 
Bakhuizen van den Brink and Muller. The conclusion reached 
by the last two that it was, in spite of its legitimate claim, revo- 
lutionary in character, seems the most tenable theory. But its 
novel feature was in the method of convention rather than 
in its being when in session. 



1573] Capture of the Brill and After 235 

oppression and to protect the land in the 
absence of the sovereign and under the stress of 
Albanian oppression. The Prince was, moreover, 
entrusted with the appointment of a deputy 
lieutenant for himself and with the work of 
reorganising the high court (Hof van Holland), 1 
because, with the dispersion of the council and 
other officers, " justice stands still and great 
confusion will be caused." The Prince was to 
take no final action without consulting the 
Estates; and they on their part were to exert 
themselves to bring other members of the gen- 
erality to their way of thinking. 2 

1 The Hof of Holland objected strongly to the first placards 
issued by the Prince of Orange which emanated from himself. 
Only when he replaced the name of King Philip was the tender 
conscience of the judicial mind able to approve the revolutionary 
proceedings. — See Fruin, Staats instellingen, p. 62. 

2 The cities represented were in the first instance Dordrecht, 
Haarlem, Leiden, Gouda, Gorcum, Alkmaar, Oudewater, Enk- 
huisen, Edam, and Monnekendam, — some small as well as the 
six great cities. Before the conclusion of proceedings, Delft too 
was included. 

The action, offensive and defensive, legislative and recon- 
structive, taken in 1572, was undoubtedly instigated by the 
Prince himself, but a certain memorandum emanating six years 
previously (December, 1566) from the consistories of the Re- 
formed Church is worth noting here as it suggests that concerted 
resistance to Philip might have taken place without a Nassau 
hand at the helm : 

[Original in French]. "Question. If His Maj. fail to observe 
the privileges, etc., may a portion of his vassals and subjects 
resist his authority? Resolved that it would be right and that 
means must be found to execute it. Needs; — a leader or leaders, 
money and troops. As to leaders, the most fitting would be the 
Prince of Orange, if he would promise to preserve the public 



236 William the Silent [1572- 

The deputies regarded themselves as the suc- 
cessors of the previous Estates of Holland, and 
did not ostensibly act as a constituent assembly, 
directing an extraordinary situation. Neverthe- 
less the body assumed the right to confer upon the 
Prince powers over which its predecessors had 
had no jurisdiction, and its history shows him 
in turn conferring powers on the congress never 
before assumed in Holland by the representatives 
of cities convened together. 

Not until August did the guarantee of supplies 
from the "Estates" enable Orange to proceed 
actively in his campaign. Towards the end of 
the month he crossed the Meuse and passed 
through Diest, Tirlemont, Louvain, Mechlin, and 
other places. Mechlin accepted his garrison and 
money began to pour in from various quarters so 
that he was greatly encouraged. 

I must not fail to tell you [he writes, August 11, to 
John 1 ] that to-day I received letters from the Admiral 
[Coligny] informing me that notwithstanding the late 
French defeat, he was levying 12,000 arquebusiers 
and 3000 horse, intending to join me. . . . He 
advises me to defer an engagement until we can join 
forces by the grace of God. I shall follow his advice 
only so far as it seems advantageous. 

exercise of the reformed religion according to the confession of 
the churches of the Low Countries. In default of the Prince, 
Mons. de Home and Mons. de Brederode or one of them." — 
Groen, ii., p. 515. 
1 Groen, iii., p. 488. 



15731 Capture of the Britt and After 237 

The elation of these early months of the sum- 
mer of '72 was followed by a crushing disappoint- 
ment that stunned all Protestants throughout 
Europe. Poor Count Louis, especially, suffered 
untold misery at the terrible blow struck at his 
friends the Huguenots. He had had the good luck 
to wrest the important town of Mons from the 
Spaniards and was within it, standing a siege well 
and confident of reinforcements from France, 
when the shocking massacre occurred at Paris on 
St. Bartholomew's Day. No juncture between the 
Beggars and the Huguenots was ever to be effected. 
Poor Louis, shut up within the beleaguered town, 
conceived such bitter sorrow over the deed of 
Paris that he was ill for three months (says La 
Huguerye 1 ). The Prince wrote to John that not 
only he but every one in Europe had been totally 
unprepared for the sanguinary event. It had 
struck him like a thunderbolt . ' ' Usually wiseacres 
declare that they foresaw what was in the wind, 
but who would dare to say so now? " 2 The letter 

1 Michel de la Huguerye, Memoires, i.,p. 130. The writer is 
not always reliable. 

2 Groen, iii., p. 501. The reason for the massacre of the 
Protestants on Aug. 24th cannot be discussed here. Possibly 
the fear lest Coligny would give aid to the Netherland rebels 
was one factor in hastening the attack, but much is still obscure 
in its regard and the subject demands more space than can be 
afforded. A wholesale murder of all the Protestants in Paris 
at the very moment of the wished-for alliance between Henry of 
Navarre and Margaret of Valois was the terrible fact — whatever 
the reasons. Hopes had been high that Catherine de' Medici 
would espouse Protestantism for political reasons. . • ■ 



238 William the Silent [1572- 

is partially in cipher. It was not a time to trust 
any man's honesty. 

Under the heavy cloud of discouragement, 
Orange pressed on slowly towards Mons to 
relieve Louis, and finally pitched his camp in early 
September at Hermigny, about half a league from 
Mons. Don Frederic, Alva's son, held his army 
in the village of St. Florin, close to one of the 
gates. On the night of September nth, the 
Spaniard, Julian Romero, fell upon Hermigny 
with a small force of six hundred men, all wearing 
white shirts over their armour to enable them to 
distinguish each other in the darkness. Silent 
as falling snow they surprised the sentinels, cut- 
ting them down like grass, and then made their 
way into the sleeping camp. The Prince was 
aroused from his sleep by a little spaniel which 
was lying at his feet. Not content with barking, 
the devoted creature had the sagacity to lick his 
master's face. Awakened at last, the Prince 
sprang out of bed, seized a horse that was ready 
saddled, and rode off in the darkness. His men 
were less fortunate. Several hundred at least 
perished, many who escaped the sword being 
driven back into a stream. The Spanish loss was 
insignificant. 

This news was a fresh blow to Count Louis. 
He decided to give up Mons, obtained extraordi- 
narily good terrns from Alva and permission to 
march out with honour. Then he went to Dillen- 
burg, where he arrived at the end of October. 



15731 Capture of the Brill and After 239 

"After a little rest [says La Huguerye], and careful 
nursing from his mother, who loved him tenderly, 
Louis was able to attend to business in which 
Count John of Nassau was unskilled and unable 
to dispense with the assistance of the said Count." x 
Orange waited to say good-bye to Louis as he 
passed, and then turned towards Holland and 
wrote from Zwolle on October 18th: 

Owing to the fall of Mons and the necessary dis- 
missal of my German mercenaries, cities on all sides 
have lost heart, and I perceive a great change every- 
where, even the warmest sympathisers are discouraged, 
not because they have less affection for the cause 
than formerly, but because they are terrified to death, 
and I fear that in the end I shall find myself alone, 
abandoned by every one, unless God performs a 
miracle. . . . One place after another has ceased 
resisting the Spaniards. No sooner was I out of 
Roermond than the soliders abandoned it. . . .1 
am determined to go to Holland and Zealand to 
maintain affairs or to find my sepulture there. 2 

By this date the Prince was already called the 
Father of his Country. The confidence felt in 
him by his adherents is a strong proof of what his 
personality must have been. The Wilhelmuslied 3 
had already proved its power to animate the rebels 
and to make them forget the persistent ill luck of 
their chief. For it is singular how very little 

1 Memoires, i., p. 138, etc. 2 Groen, iv., p. 2. 

* The words of this song are attributed to Philip Marnix. The 
music is an old French air according to Fruin. 



24O William the Silent [1572- 

achievement there was to his credit, how little 
effective skill the Prince had shown thus far! 
His own military operations had failed utterly 
from the hour when he crossed the Meuse in 1568 
until he was surprised at Mons, in September, 
1572. The gains actually made for the rebels had 
been, to a large measure, without his knowledge 
and in a fashion that he did not wholly approve. 
Yet the potent forces of life seem to be over and 
above minor accidents. His adherents believed 
in Orange for his aims and did not abandon him 
for his failures. His enemies continued to fear 
him more than any other hostile force even while 
they declared that he was impotent to harm 
them. 

The siege of Haarlem occupied the thoughts of 
all during the winter of , 7 2_, 73- Heroic endur- 
ance was manifested by the citizens and Orange 
exerted himself to the utmost to relieve the city, 
but it was in vain. Don Frederic had the 
resources of Amsterdam at his back; with that 
base he was finally successful in reducing Haarlem 
and making it pay a heavy penalty for its resist- 
ance. Orange hovered in the neighbourhood of 
the besieged town and from his post on the Haar- 
lem lake he sent out volumes of appeals for 
pecuniary assistance. But the answers received 
were discouraging. Elizabeth was very vaguely 
sympathetic, the French were dazed completely 
after St. Bartholomew, and the Germans advised 
that the revolt should be abandoned as futile and 



1573] Capture of the Brill and After 24 1 

that reconciliation with Philip be sued for, and 
even John and Louis of Nassau were disposed to 
agree to that counsel. 

On* February 5th, Orange writes thanking the 
brothers for their warm interest in his affairs and 
specifying the terms upon which alone he would 
make peace with Spain, — liberty of conscience 
and of worship to all men, restoration of all 
ancient privileges, and expulsion of all Spanish 
garrisons. Also Orange thought that it would be 
only just for Philip II. to assume the expense of 
the rebel troops. (Such a wise and practical 
thought on the rebel's part!) With all these 
items adjusted, the King would speedily see that 
public peace was the Prince's desire and "that I 
am not opinionated against what is reasonable. 
But here is our difficulty. Can we trust these 
assurances when we know . . . that they hold 
that promises to heretics can be absolved by the 
Pope?" etc., etc. 1 

That seems a far more candid expression of 
opinion than the phrase in another letter of March 
to Count Louis 2 : 

In your last letter you speak of my shortly receiving 
good news. Not knowing what it may be and sus- 
pecting that it may concern the peace negotiations, 
I beg you to give me full information ... so 
that I may know how to act. To my mind . . . 

1 Groen, iv., p. 49. 

2 Ibid., p. 72. This paragraph is in German, the rest of the 
letter in French. 

16 



242 William the Silent [1572- 

it seems very important to consider whether in pro- 
posing conditions, ... on which to base an accord, 
we may not expose ourselves to the charge of wishing 
to lay down the law to our superiors. Even the form 
used by the Admiral in France does not seem to me 
quite proper from a subject, a vassal, towards his 
liege. Would it not be better to let them propose 
conditions which we can accept or reject? Then 
besides the fact that we would remain entirely within 
our rights, we would gain credit for our modesty. 
Pray ponder these points. As to affairs here, the 
Haarlemers hold out valiantly, although provisions 
are short and the people so weary of war that they 
are lax in their duty. It will be difficult to prolong 
their efforts. For my part, I see no prospect of 
raising the siege, so I beg you to see what you can do, 
either by a grand levy or by persuading the princes to 
act in unison. It would be a shame to let worthy 
people perish so and if they fall after such staunch 
resistance the effect on the other towns will be very 
bad. ... Use your discretion and take care of your 
person. All the country is longing for you like the 
Angel Gabriel. 

Under the circumstances the apparent sophistry 
— hardly worth while between these men — seems 
strange, but there may have been some other 
meaning to the phrases. At this moment, Orange 
distrusted any alliance with France, which his 
brother was still disposed to make. 

I must tell you frankly [writes Orange to Louis in 
May, 1573] that the Estates individually and col- 
lectively have a deep-rooted distrust of the king 



t573l Capture of the Brill and After 243 

[of France] on account of his late enormity. If we 
are to be under any tyrant it is surely better to be 
tyrannised over by one's natural prince than by a 
stranger. This is the universal conviction. 1 

The fall of Haarlem (July 12, 1573), was fol- 
lowed by the splendid and successful defence of 
Alkmaar, which Don Frederic had besieged with 
the expectation of speedily reducing it as a mere 
bagatelle. Four hours of assault and seven weeks 
of siege convinced him that the town was not ripe 
to fall like a plum into his mouth. But it was not 
only the vehemence of the resistance within the 
walls that caused the enemy to retreat. At the 
Prince's suggestion the sluices were opened and 
the Spanish forces found the water rising above 
their feet. That * was the argument to which 
Don Frederic finally yielded, and on October 8th 
he drew off his troops from Alkmaar's gates and 
marched south. Counting the capture of Brill as 
the first, this release of the North Holland city 
was the second milestone on the road towards the 
ultimate success of the rebellion. 
\This autumn of 1573 marks too, another mile- 
stone in the Prince's personal life. He came to 
the conclusion that the Calvinistic form of 
theology was better adapted to the needs of the 
Netherlands than the Lutheran tenets which he 
had commenced to study seriously under the 
instructions of Nicholas Zell. The former fur- 

1 Groen, iv., p. 113. 



244 William the Silent 11572- 

nished political theories excellently adapted to the 
regeneration of a state such as was taking place. 
It was a not unnatural decision to one of the 
Prince's temperament. 

On October 23d, Bartholdus Wilhelmi, a Dor- 
drecht minister, wrote to one of the Leiden 
churches: , 

Brethren, I must hasten to inform you that the 
Prince of Orange, our pious stadtholder, has joined 
the congregation, broken the Master's bread with the 
faithful, and submitted to discipline. 1 

In 1567, when union would have meant national 
strength, the Prince's earnest counsel to the sects 
was in substance what Hooft expresses in 
the phrase: u Het geschil is te kleen om gesplijt te 
blijven, ' ' "The difference is too slight to separate 
you the one from the other." There is no reason 
to think that the man's profound conviction of 
this belief had changed in '73, when he thus allied 
himself with the Calvinists instead of standing 
aloof from all the sects alike with neutral kind- 
ness toward each one. To his ideas of political 
leadership it seemed the act of wisdom to iden- 
tify himself with the strongest political body 
and from one vantage ground to protect the 
devotees of other theological creeds. Expediency, 
not dishonesty, was the main spring of his action. 
After writing himself down a Calvinist, the Prince 

1 Groen, iv., p. 226. 




PHILIP MARNIX, SEIGNEUR OF STE. ALDEGONDE 



1573] Capture of the Brill and After 245 

did not change his nature so as to lose, in any 
degree, his sense of toleration. Indeed, his liber- 
ality often prevented his stricter brethren in the 
faith from wholly trusting him, after his enrollment 
among the faithful, as before. 

It was a surprisingly brief period, considering the 
provocation, before Count Louis's belief in aid from 
the French court began to revive. He thought 
that the desire to erase the blot of St. Bartholomew 
would induce Catherine de' Medici and her son to 
show kindness to other Protestants. There is a 
very interesting letter from him to Charles IX., 
in which the writer expatiates on the chance 
offered the King to rehabilitate himself. 1 The 
young German certainly does not gloss terms. 
He declares that the King's reputation had suf- 
fered terribly from the massacre, as was proven 
by caricatures, by libels, etc. An alliance with 
Protestant princes was the one thing that could 
clear Charles from the accusation of having 
deliberately planned an act of horrible treachery 
towards people he had cherished. "How did 
your Majesty deal with the Admiral — pretending 
to be alarmed about his wounds and promising 
vengeance on his assassins two days before your 
Majesty took vengeance indeed, but in rather ill 

1 Groen, iv., p. 81. Michelet says, x., p. 28. "History has pre- 
served nothing more bitter than this cry of Louis of Nassau. . . . 
This terrible piece of frankness is oblivious to all the diplomacy 
of the period." Again, p. 45, "The bold words of Louis of 
Nassau proved to be a message from a man on the eve of death 
to a dying man." 



246 William the Silent 11572- 

fashion!" The writer urges that Charles must 
retrieve himself if he wished his word to be trusted 
again, and that he could do best by furthering the 
Protestant religion, which was far from being 
exterminated. 

Apparently this plain speaking did not bring 
Louis into disfavour with the French court. Com- 
missioned by the Elector Palatine to greet the 
newly elected King of Poland en route to his new 
realm 1 Louis determined to see if something good 
could not be concluded to aid both Count Frederick 
and the Netherlands. He was so far successful 
that he was able to write 2 : 

In sum the King of France has pledged himself to 
espouse the cause of the said Netherlands in the 
same way that the Protestant princes espouse it, 
however that may be, openly or secretly, and without 
counting the money he has already given us. .You may 
be assured, Monsieur, that your affairs go better in 
Germany than ever before and that my brother and I 
will not lose a single minute in advancing them. As 
to the bishop of Cologne, he is in good train, thank 
God. . . . We have arranged that the King of France 
shall give him 16,000 livres pension and that he shall 
have one year's income ... in advance, on con- 
sideration of breaking from the Spanish entirely 
from this time forth. ... As to the money you need 
we will try to send it to you as secretly as possible. 

x The French King's brother, Henry, Duke of Anjou, had been 
elected King of Poland. Later he was Henry III. of France. 
2 Louis to Orange, Groen, iv., p. 278. 



15731 Capture of the Brill and After 247 

... As soon as this journey be over, Monsieur, I 
shall join you with a large or a small company. I 
had an interview with the Duke of Alencon 1 who 
whispered to me as he pressed my hand that if he had 
the government there [the Netherlands] as his brother 
that of Poland, he would second you to the utmost. 
I know how to use his fidelity, which would be of no 
slight service to us. If God grant that France and 
Poland work together, as I think they promise to do, 
I believe our affairs will be marvellously furthered. 

In spite of the shortness of the time since Orange 
had stated his opinion that it was sheer folly to 
trust in French assistance, he let himself be con- 
vinced and adopted the policy which continued to 
dangle before his eyes until his dying day — French 
protection for the provinces, reinforced by the 
Protestant German princes, and by the Archbishop 
of Cologne, who dreamed of changing his faith and 
taking his see with him as a lay principality. 

In Holland the Prince was beset with other 
dangers than that of open warfare. He was, 
legally, an outlaw. Granvelle himself had advised 
that he and his brothers should be disposed of 
"like Turks." Philip was quite ready to take 
this advice and there were plenty of assassins 
ready to please him. On February 3, 1573, Juan 
de Albornoz, Alva's private secretary, wrote to 
Philip ' s chief secretary 2 : " The man who brought 

1 This was the fourth son of Catherine de' Medici. He became 
Duke of Anjou on his brother's accession to the French crown. 

2 Gachard, vi., p. I. 



248 William the Silent [1572- 

Coligny's head has offered to strike off the head of 
another who has injured Christianity as much as 
the scamp now in hell." 

Gabriel de Cayas showed this letter to the King, 
who wrote on the margin, "I do not understand 
this, because I do not know where the Admiral's 
head was taken or whose this other head is, 
although it seems to be that of Orange. Certainly 
they have shown little pluck in not killing him, for 
that would be the best remedy." 

There is plenty of evidence to prove that 
assassins were willing. One hireling had to 
renounce his project because his ignorance of 
Flemish prevented his gaining the entry to the 
little court then established at Delft. The Prince 
was on his guard and as he had his own spies, even, 
it is said, in Philip's cabinet, he was usually suffi- 
ciently informed in advance to frustrate the plots 
against his life. Many of Alva's "trusty people" 
met their death as they were on their way to rid 
the land of the rebel leader. 

Meantime the two governments de facto went 
on side by side in the Netherlands. Alva con- 
vened the Estates at Brussels and Orange found 
means to send his own statement of affairs to the 
assembly. It was a fervent call to co-operation 
with the rebels. "Did not Alva obtain the 
sinews of war from them? Why should they 
continue to furnish means to pursue these oppres- 
sive hostilities? Former princes of the Nether- 
lands lived on the soil and had never had a stuiver 



1573] Capture of the Brill and After 249 

not expressly granted to them. Why should this 
foreigner usurp privileges in a manner a native 
count had never dreamed of? Holland had taken 
her stand and meant to abide by it, even though 
Amsterdam remained out of the new bond. If 
there were but union among all the provinces, 
what could not be done? 1 

This appeal was followed by an "Epistle to the 
King of Spain," which was scattered broadcast 
over Europe. A picture of the misery in the land 
was drawn with a strong hand, the futility of the 
"pardons" offered by Philip was characterised in 
scathing terms, and the declaration was made that 
arms would never be laid down while there was a 
hand within the disaffected provinces to wield a 
sword. 

, In 1573, the Duke of Alva was finally relieved 
from his charge, not by Medina Cceli, as had 
once been determined, but by Don Luis de Re- 
quesens y Cuniga, Grand Commander of Castile. 
The arrival of the new lieutenant-governor at 
Brussels on November 17, 1573, was most wel- 
come to Philip's regent. The task of taming 
"men of butter" had proved as disagreeable as it 
was difficult. He was completely at the end of his 
resources and blamed old royalist Netherlanders 
like Viglius for his failure. They were too luke- 
warm. Alva wrote to Philip that he could do 
nothing with the "ancient set of dogmatisers. 2 
Till all are gone, together with Viglius, who teaches 
1 Bor, i., p. 459, etc. 2 Cor. ale Philippe II., ii., p. 359. 



250 William the Silent [1572- 

them their lessons, nothing will go right. One 
or two Spaniards are like pouring a flask of good 
wine into a hogshead of vinegar. All is soon 
vinegar." 

Broken in fortunes and discouraged, Alva sailed 
off to Spain, managing to escape the crowd of his 
private creditors at Amsterdam by departing be- 
fore the date set. He left his reputation behind 
him together with his repudiated debts. And 
thus far no apologist has written his biography and 
tried to show his virtues. 

Alva leaves Belgium [writes Hubert Languet to 
Philip Sidney, December 21, 1573]. I believe no- 
thing vexes him more than that he has left any sur- 
vivors of his cruelty. His successor is pretending 
the greatest moderation. He has just given a 
beautiful instance of his wisdom for he has taken a 
motto for his colours, Debellare superbos. It is the 
mountain in labour. The threads of his net are too 
coarse and he will not catch many birds. He pro- 
mises immunity to all who shall give themselves 
up to be tortured. Orange's affairs are not alto- 
gether unpromising, for Holland and Zealand make 
so much of him that they consider their well-being 
to depend on his safety and therefore they do not 
allbw him to encounter the risks of war but will 
have him preside at their councils and let others 
execute his commands. 1 

Before the change of governors, Don Frederic 

1 Cor. of Philip Sidney and Hubert Languet, p. 14. 



15731 Capture of the Brill and After 25 1 

had shifted the base of offensive operations from 
Alkmaar to Leiden. 1 In Holland, Haarlem and 
Amsterdam, in Zealand, Middelburg, were the 
only cities in the Spaniards' hands. Prior to fresh 
operations conciliatory measures were tried. Julian 
Romero, one of Alva's veterans, actually opened a 
correspondence with his former colleague, Orange, 
in evident desire to bring him as far as peace nego- 
tiations. Possibly among the Prince's partisans the 
wish for peace spread. Certainly one of his most 
devoted friends, Philip Marnix, chose the moment 
to urge submission. Marnix, captured at Maas- 
landsluis, was in the hands of the foe and had 
evidently lost heart when he wrote 2 : 

I think it would be far better to forsake all con- 
veniences of the fatherland, all this world's goods, and 
live in a strange country, possessing one's soul in 
patience, rather than to continue a war, which can 
result in nothing but misery. . . . 

Consider too that Alva is retiring and that the 
King is free to exercise his own natural clemency. 
Even if he does not, surely a rigorous government 
would be more endurable than the burdens of this 
war. ... I would like to have three words with your 
Excellency and you would understand how this pro- 
ceeds from my heart. Your Excellency can have the 
opportunity if he wishes, of speaking to the master 
of this camp, who leaves for Spain on Monday and 
who has expressed a desire to meet you. 

1 De Valdez succeeded as commander of this enterprise when 
Don Frederic departed for Spain with his father. 
3 Groen, iv., p. 285. 



252 William the Silent [1572-1573] 

With his customary deliberation Orange com- 
municated this proposition to the Estates and 
received prompt and decisive assurance that there 
would be no use in making an accord sure to be 
broken. 

The Prince's old acquaintance, Noircarmes, 
also opened a correspondence with him, urging 
him to reconciliation. To him Orange replied in 
a cool and dignified fashion and finally showed 
him some confiscated letters which had fully con- 
vinced the Prince that there had been no change 
of heart in the Spanish quarter. 

From Germany, instead of the hoped for sub- 
sidies, there came advice of similar tenor. "It is 
a losing game you are playing [wrote Landgrave 
William]. Give it up while you have anything 
to save." 1 Louis of Nassau, however, was not 
among the doubters. He had high hopes from 
Germany and he continued to believe that the 
French King would finally redeem his damaged 
reputation by some great deed. At least one 
hundred thousand crowns had been given to Louis 
at Blamont, and he wrote glowingly of his plans 
for his expedition to Holland, in which Duke 
Casimir of the Palatine was to aid him. 

1 The Landgrave was full of schemes for evangelising all Ger- 
many but he was very wary and often warned his friends to 
beware of snakes in the grass, — "anguis in herba laiitaret." 
Groen, iv., p. 349. 



CHAPTER XII 

THE BATTLE OF MOOK HEATH 
1574 

IN December the Prince changed his head- 
quarters from Delft to Zierikzee, so that he 
might be nearer to Middelburg, faithful to Spain 
and closely besieged by the Netherland troops. 
Within the walls, Spaniards and royalists sub- 
sisted on rats and cats as bravely as the Haarlem 
people had done, and were quite as determined not 
to yield. 

Then Orange moved on to Flushing where he 
writes to his brothers (January 6th) T : 

My letter from Zierikzee of the 23d ultimo, of which 
I enclose the duplicate, will inform you how troubled 
I am at hearing nothing from you since November 6th. 
Pray relieve my anxiety. . . . Tell me whether I 
can surely count on aid from you, tell me everything 
without concealment, that I may take measures ac- 
cordingly and prevent here the repetition of Haar- 
lem's fate. The worst may be expected from the foe, 
because since the surrender of Haarlem they have met 

1 Groen, iv., p. 320. Addressed to John, Louis, and Henry of 
Nassau. Condensed. 

253 



254 William the Silent [1574] 

contempt, shame, and humiliation in Waterland and 
Zealand. You know their nature, — not only am- 
bitious and vindictive, but almost devoid of humanity. 
I do not say this from distrust of your zeal, being 
assured by several letters that you are working un- 
ceasingly, but because several excellent measures 
which you have initiated are so long deferred and any 
delay entails irreparable injuries at this moment . . . 
as the enemy's forces are discouraged at odds and 
scattered in several directions. Again I beg you to 
let me have definite news from you and through two 
or three channels. 

Before this letter was despatched, advices of 
November 21st arrived with the encouraging news 
of the interview between Louis and Anjou and of 
the promise of French assistance. The Prince 
continues his letter: 

As to your difficulty in reading my cipher, I hope 
by this time you have received the duplicates and are 
in possession of my plans. . . . Middelburg is in 
such extremity that we trust it must soon fall into 
our hands. . . . And as the enemy are making strenu- 
ous efforts to revictual it, I beg you to have general 
prayers offered, imploring God to take pity on our 
misery and to prevent too great a sacrifice of blood. 

On January 29th, an engagement took place on 
sea in which Boisot, the Prince's Admiral, lost an 
eye and won a splendid victory. Julian Romero 
was in command for the Spanish, although quite 
ignorant of naval warfare. The ships were locked 



[1574] The Battle of Mook Heath 255 

together and a hand-to-hand conflict ensued, from 
which the royalists retreated with the loss of at 
least 1200 (some Spanish authorities say 7000) 
men and seven ships. Romero was forced to save 
himself by swimming, and he joined the Grand 
Commander, who stood watching the conflict 
from the top of a dyke in a drenching rain, and 
said nonchalantly: "I told your Excellency I 
was a hard fighter and no sailor. Had I had a 
hundred ships I doubt if I would have done better." 
With this philosophical resignation to his defeat, 
Romero accompanied Requesens to Brussels, and 
within Middelburg Mondragon was left to his 
own resources, which were insufficient to sus- 
tain him beyond mid-February 1 when he capit- 
ulated. The articles of surrender signed by him 
and Orange on February 18th implied a cer- 
tain recognition of the Prince's position de facto. 
This was a third milestone and a distinct stage 
in the great rebel's career. In the northern 
cities of his sometime government, Orange had 
been named stadtholder by citizens in open revolt. 2 
At Middelburg the resumed dignity was acknow- 
ledged by Mondragon, Philip's defeated general, 

x Hooft, ix., p. 323. 

2 Prior to his departure, Alva had inaugurated a new plan of 
campaign. "I am busy [he writes] in so distributing the troops 
that they may be able to prevent the Beggars from obtaining 
supplies from the open country. ... In this wise the rebels 
will be hemmed into the cities and must perish of hunger. And 
on some winter-night when the ditches are solid, it may be possi- 
ble to surprise them." — Cor. de Philippe II., p. 112. 



256 William the Silent [1574] 

in delivering up a city that had heroically endeav- 
oured to remain loyal. Orange reorganised the 
magistracy, received oaths of allegiance from the 
burghers, and swore to maintain ancient local 
privileges. Further, in consideration of the hard- 
ships that the city had endured, he waived two 
thirds of the indemnity promised him. 

In Germany, the Nassau brothers assuredly were 
strenuous in their efforts "to be diligent." The 
ingenious activity of Louis in this winter, that 
proved his last, was extraordinary. In addition 
to his cautious parleying with France, which 
grew more and more definite, he busied himself 
with plans for converting the Rhenish bishops into 
Protestant leaders. He was convinced that they 
were on the eve of the desired transformation, and 
were quite ready to enter into matrimony and to 
turn the bishoprics into perpetual holdings. " He 
converted the Bishop of Spires," says his devoted 
La Huguerye, "who had his wife already found. 
They have good hopes of the incumbent of 
Mayence, while counting little on him of Treves." 
The Count's most strenuous endeavours were 
exerted in regard to the chief prelates at Cologne 
and Liege. 1 To the latter he suggested one 
Charlotte of Bourbon as a wife. 2 He might then 
restore the castle of Bouillon to her kinsman, who 
would, as a recognition for obtaining his own 

1 Memoires, i., p. 202. 

2 Daughter of the Duke of Montpensier, whose story comes 
later. 



[15741 The Battle of Mook Heath 257 

rights, surely dower the Bishop's wife. Louis did 
not, indeed, find these princes of the Church 
wholly amenable to his advice, though the nego- 
tiations with Cologne certainly went far and per- 
mitted his hopes to rise high. 

This person [the archbishop] cares nothing at all 
for the pope, for his council, for absolution, for 
prohibition of matrimony [writes the Chancellor 
Ehem to William of Hesse] nor for the execution of 
the edicts of the Council of Trent. . . . He is anti- 
Spanish and hates priests, especially the Jesuits. 
He is ambitious and avaricious on account of poverty 
and means shortly to take a wife. He poses as hav- 
ing a German heart and as being a warrior by na- 
ture, as your Grace can see from his extraordinary 
statements, which I could hardly listen to without 
laughing. 

After diagnosing the case, remedies must be ap- 
plied suitable to win over his electoral Grace, etc., etc. 1 

The idea of an alliance with this man was looked 
on somewhat askance by the canny Landgrave, 
who had a touch of his father's shrewdness and 
vigour of utterance. ' ' I doubt the man. That one 
who was of contrary mind should suddenly turn 
around without any such miracle as converted 
Paul does not seem very plausible to me." And 
in the end the Landgrave proved right, although 
the Archbishop so far aided the rebels as to permit 
Cologne to be used as a base of supplies. 

r Groen, iv., p. 337. 
17 



258 William the Silent [1574] 

In February, 1574, John, Louis, and Henry of 
Nassau, accompanied by Duke Christopher, son 
of Frederick, Elector Palatine, set out for the 
Netherlands at the head of a small army. By 
the end of the month they reached the Meuse and 
camped on the German side of the river near 
Maestricht, which the Prince had suggested their 
taking en route, 

Requesens had prepared to confront them 
with fresh mercenaries, levied in Germany, added 
to the Spanish collected from the garrisons of all 
the towns where he dared weaken the defence. 
The immediate command was entrusted to 
Sancho d'Avila, whose efforts were centred on 
preventing a junction between the Prince and his 
brothers. 

The catastrophe that followed all these prepara- 
tions was overwhelming for the Nassaus. Every- 
thing went wrong. More than a thousand men 
deserted from the invading army before they 
reached the frontier. The ice was too broken to 
allow crossing and too thick for the passage of 
boats. An unexpected descent upon d' Avila's 
camp might have given the invaders a chance of 
success, but their delay enabled Mendoza to march 
his troops up and to cross the Meuse, where he 
was joined by d'Avila, Mondragon, and others. 
On April 13th, Louis reached the little village of 
Mook, near the borders of Cleves. After d' Avila's 
crossing, the Count found his men inconveniently 
hemmed in in a narrow space between the Meuse 



[1574] The Battle of Mook Heath 259 

and the Waal, with no defence but a trench hastily 
dug before Mook and with no space in which to 
use his cavalry, his best strength. 

In the Spanish council of war there was a lively 
discussion as to whether it would be politic to 
force an immediate engagement. Extra rein- 
forcements were at hand, and it was urged that 
at Heiligerlee, Aremberg had shown error of 
judgment in opening hostilities prematurely when 
he might have had greater strength, later on. At 
the same time, it was recognised that they had 
to do with a commander remarkably fertile in 
resources. If the Spaniards held off, Louis might 
manage to slip by them in the night, and if he 
effected the desired junction with the Prince, 
affairs would speedily take on a different aspect. 
The skirmishes over the trench grew fiercer. 
Louis made a desperate charge upon the Spanish 
horse under which they gave way. Those who ran 
away as far as Grave spread reports of a victory 
won by the patriots. Unfortunately for the 
Prince, it was a baseless report. The repulse was 
insignificant, and fresh Spanish lancers and Ger- 
man troopers were close at hand to fill the space. 
A short sanguinary engagement ensued. Louis, 
Henry of Nassau, and Duke Christopher rallied 
a few men about them after the first rout of their 
forces and led on a charge. It was their last. None 
knew what became of any one of the three. 

When the three hundredth anniversaries of 
Heiligerlee and Mook Heath came around, the 



260 William the Silent [1574] 

celebrations were made the occasion for violent 
criticism of Louis of Nassau and of his efforts to 
further the Netherland cause. Many contumeli- 
ous epithets were heaped upon his memory — that 
of an irresponsible adventurer being the most 
plausible, inasmuch as he was a foreigner engaged 
in a struggle that was not his. But was there 
ever a war when some such adventurous spirits 
were not attracted to its field? And in such 
cases the most laudable motives cannot be com- 
pletely cleared from a certain percentage of the 
spirit of adventure, pure and simple. Sharing 
certain traits with all young men who wander 
afield in search of a wider career than they could 
find at home, Louis of Nassau was also animated 
by fraternal affection, attested in every line of 
the voluminous family correspondence. This af- 
fection, as well as the opportunities for more life, 
drew the younger brother naturally into the con- 
cerns of the elder, and the former eagerly identified 
himself with the latter's interests as they branched 
out from those of Philip. 

Louis of Nassau was in his thirty-sixth year 
when he met his death. In spite of his rather 
roving experience of life a nimbus of youthfulness 
hangs about him and his every word to the last. 
Perhaps that is the natural result of his continual 
association with two elder brothers, for it is not 
unnatural that fraternal relations should preserve 
the hierarchy of childhood. Enterprising as he 
was, his projects do not invariably show good 




COUNT LOUIS OF NASSAU. 
(From an old print.) 



[1574] The Battle of Mook Heath 261 

judgment, even as he advanced to the age of 
maturity. His scheme of capturing Requesens 
in 1573 showed that he had not changed essentially 
since he pasted incendiary papers on the walls at 
Antwerp in 1565, or feigned illness at La Rochelle 
in the hope of obtaining a private visit from 
the Queen. His ruses seem boyish rather than 
hypocritical. r 

His early education was at Dillenburg, with a 
group of contemporaries under the supervision of 
his mother. It chances that there is very little 
extant touching on his training, and Arnoldi's 
statement that he studied at the universities of 
Strasburg and Geneva, instead of at the Lutheran 
Wittenberg, where John and Adolph went, seems 
open to doubt. Count William the Elder was 
certainly Lutheran in sympathy and the choice 
of a Calvinistic environment for his third son 
would have been peculiar. Louis's student career 
was, however, short wherever passed, for by his 
eighteenth year he was at Brussels, a regularly 
appointed official of Philip's government, in spite 
of his declared Protestantism. He says himself 
that Philip sent de Bergues and Home to him for 
the express purpose of urging him to adopt the 
ancient Catholic religion because the King feared 
his pernicious influence upon the nobles with 
whom he associated. His answer to the King's 

1 See Blok, Lodewijk van Nassau. Correspondence de 
Lodewijk van Nassau. Apologie. MS. in Nassau family ar- 
chives, The Hague. 



262 William the Silent [1574] 

emissaries was that he could not desert the tenets 
in which he had been educated by his parents, his 
preceptors, and by theologians; but that he cer- 
tainly did not possess sufficient skill or learning 
to convert his friends and in their sports and 
amusements their talk naturally fell on other 
topics. This statement occurs in his Apology 
written in 1568, after Louis was formally cited 
to appear at Brussels to answer the charges against 
him. The document was never completed nor 
disseminated abroad as were the Prince's Justifi- 
cation and Apology. Possibly the preparations 
for his expedition into Friesland caused Louis to 
lay it aside for the time, and he never found leisure 
to prepare it for publication. Perhaps, too, after 
the execution of Egmont and Home he would 
have desired to change his tone somewhat. At 
the time of writing, they were in custody and 
Louis would, naturally, have been very careful to 
avoid incriminating them. 

The first part of the document touching on 
events prior to the presentation of the petition 
cannot be considered as very candid, in the light 
of Louis's other correspondence. It was natural, 
however, that in response to a citation which 
implied his being at the root of the Netherland 
troubles, accused him of meddling in affairs that 
did not concern him, as a foreigner, he should 
answer hotly and attempt to give the best colour 
to his motives. As a literary piece of work the 
document is open to criticism, being ill put to- 



[1574-j The Battle of Mook Heath 263 

gether and verbose, but certain impetuous in- 
dividual expressions, however, give the imperfect 
draft a distinct character, though naturally less 
vivid than the personality that pervades the 
Count's correspondence, private and semi-official 
alike. 

Even in his formal and respectful letters to 
Orange, boyish phrases often creep in, while few 
communications to his intimates are without 
jokes and light-heartedness in the midst of weighty 
subjects. In 157 1, when in France, Louis writes 
to Dr. Schwarz that he believes the latter wants 
to prove himself worthy of his name, "gruff West- 
erwalder," because he is so remiss in his epistolary 
duty, "or perhaps," he adds, "you think I have 
forgotten my German in the society of French 
ladies." Then he asks news of his "zoological 
garden," by which term he means to designate 
his friends. 1 

I wish you knew the man [wrote Walsingham to 
Leicester, Aug. 12, 1571 2 ]. They talk of him as the 
arm and the head, as if he were a second Coligny. 
He is eloquent and mellow in his words but the chief 
point is that as regards religion he is as honest in his 
morals as he is frank and of good faith in negotiation. 

It does not appear just when Louis passed over 
from the Lutheranism of his father to the theologi- 

1 Cor. de Lodewijk van Nassau, p. 86. 

2 A letter to Burghley on the same date describing an inter- 
view with Louis of Nassau is the corroborating evidence that 
this refers to Count Louis. 



264 William the Silent [15741 

cal creed of his French allies. In 1565 he seems 
to have been antagonistic to the Calvinists and 
especially to their sermons, unlicensed and unregu- 
lated as these were. His final identification with 
the doctrines of Geneva was due, undoubtedly, 
to political convenience of the theories and still 
more to the fact that the Huguenots, who proved 
to be the most durable allies, were of that faith. 

Ardent as the young Count's Protestantism 
was, it never prevented his enjoying madcap 
freaks proposed by Brederode or any other com- 
rade. Many of his impulsive acts menaced the 
success of important plans. Undoubtedly in the 
early days, the prudent Prince preferred not to 
know what the younger brother had afoot, while 
willing, probably, to reap advantage from actions 
if they proved successful, even if the deeds were 
not wholly to his taste. Not of a temperament to 
see both sides of a question, Louis cannot be 
accused of hypocrisy, as Orange frequently is. 
In his attitude towards religion he was always 
direct, and always put Protestantism first. When 
he was governor of the principality of Orange, in 
behalf of his brother, he reorganised the uni- 
versity upon a Protestant basis. 

After failing in his suit for the Rytberg heiress 
Louis does not seem to have been very anxious for 
matrimony. Possibly Charlotte de Bourbon was 
thought of but there seems no positive evidence 
in that regard. Rumour did not leave his char- 
acter quite unsullied. In his Apology, Orange 



[1574] The Battle of Mook Heath 265 

says: "As to their slurs on my brother Louis, 
they would do better to leave so good a chevalier 
in peace. They cannot compare to him and he 
was a better Christian. " 

Certainly there can be no doubt of his personal 
popularity among those who did like him. The 
French Huguenots were anxious to adopt him 
as their own leader; the Hollanders longed for 
him as for the " Angel Gabriel" ; and he was called 
the German Bayard. His loss was irreparable 
to the Prince. 

Henry, who perished at the same time, had been 
at his brother's side during the French campaigns, 
but there is little record of his career of twenty- 
four years except the references to his education 
and the anxiety that his young life should not be 
wasted, expressed by his mother and brothers. 

The Prince waited on the Isle of Bommel for 
tidings, tidings curiously slow in coming. On 
April 15th, the day after the battle, he moved 
to Gorcum to be nearer the place where he ex- 
pected his brothers to cross the Meuse. Thence 
he wrote to Louis, still in ignorance of the 
calamity : 

Monsieur my brother: Returning to-day from 
Delft, I received in Dort, yours of the 12th, and learn 
where you are. I am sorry to have received your last 
too late to collect soldiers to send for your escort. 
However, I hope by to-morrow we shall have thirty- 
five or six companies and a fair number of vessels. 
And to arrange better, I came to-day to this city. 



266 William the Silent [1574] 

Let me know when you plan to cross the river, so 
that I can meet you. 

Written at Gorcum, April 15, 1574. x 

As to your crossing, I do not know a better place 
than the environs of Tiel, at Wammel ford, Wamel, or 
Varick, or near there. It is narrow, however, for the 
cavalry, but you must make a virtue of necessity. 1 

Two days later he wrote from Bommel 2 : 

My brothers: Since my last, I have heard that 
your foot and some horse have deserted and are 
already across the Rhine. If this be true, it is to 
be feared that the rest will soon follow, and that if 
you temporise a little, you will find yourself alone. 
My advice, subject to your correction, would be, if 
it be true that many of your people have abandoned 
you, and that I can find no means of coming to yon, 
your best expedient would be to pick out 3000 or 
4000 foot and 1000 of your best horse, go down to 
Emden and cross there. Otherwise it is to be feared, 
that since I have to do with a people who get easily 
frightened, as easily rejoiced and frightened again, 
all courage might ooze away at this retreat. 

But if I can keep holding out the prospect of 
your coming, it is to be hoped that the people will 
continue in the good- will that they have shown up to 
this moment. In any event, it will be best to put an 
end to the affair of England, which Dathenus has 
mentioned to you, having received a letter two days 
ago to that effect. They are very keen on the 
league with Germany, offering, if that can be com- 

I# Groen, iv., p. 368 3 Ibid., 369. 






[1574] The Battle of Mook Heath 267 

passed, to declare open war on the King of Spain. 
You might exert a little pressure there, for, in truth, 
the German delays are slow death to us. 
Bommel, April 17th. 

Messieurs my brothers : You will "recall what I 
wrote you on the 13th of this month, concerning 
the enemy's overtures to peace. As I am daily ex- 
pecting news of their intention, I wish you could 
temporise a little, and delay on the frontiers, pretend- 
ing always to be coming to join us. You could write 
to the Estates of Holland and Zealand not to be dis- 
heartened, that you do not retreat to abandon them, 
but only temporarily, during which you wish to 
fortify yourself, that they may be effectually aided. 
I beg you let me know who of yours are left on the 
field [euphemism for dead] or wounded, and whether 
they are people of rank. Mention, too, the enemy's 
loss, and say whether you have any distinguished 
prisoners, as is rumoured. My regards to the Duke 
Christopher, my brothers, and others in your 
company. 

April 18th. 1 

My brothers: Being in the greatest trouble in 
the world at having had no answer from you to the 
seven letters I have written since the 10th — the 
last being on the 18th — I have decided to send you 
this messenger. ... I do not know whether you 
have received mine of the 18th. If not, the bearer 
will tell you the contents. Only let me hear your 
condition. 

April 2 1 st. 2 

1 Groen, iv., p. 371. 2 Ibid., 373. 



268 William the Silent [1574] 

Count John's wife sends word to the Land- 
gravine of Hesse on April 21st that both brothers 
are living but Henry is wounded in the arm, so 
slow is the final news in reaching Dillenburg, and 
apparently it is asiate as April 22nd before Orange 
even knows of the engagement and then he writes 
to Count John, who had luckily gone to Cologne 
on the nth, begging for news. The Prince still 
cherishes hope and makes plans for his brothers, 
"if they be still in life." It seems impossible 
for him to accept the fact that the silence is 
never again to be broken. The persistence with 
which he continued to arrange details for the 
dead brothers' advance was evidently a mental 
protest against acknowledging an unwelcome 
truth. 

The great advantage gained by the Spaniards 
at Mook Heath was diminished by a mutiny on 
the day after the battle. Three years' pay was 
in arrears ; and the moment of victory won by the 
soldiers' exertions was utilised to put in their 
claims. Requesens finally succeeded in raising a 
loan of 400,000 florins from the Council of Antwerp 
by giving a mortgage on the crown domains. 
After this agreement was effected, the mutineers 
came to Antwerp and were paid in corn or cloth. 
Then they proceeded to celebrate in the Place 
de Meir, arrayed like children in the cloth and 
velvet given them in lieu of wages, and their 
revels were at a great height when word came that 
the Prince's Admiral, Boisot, had seized the oppor- 



[1574] The Battle of Mook Heath 269 

tunity to advance up the Scheldt. The call to 
arms was obeyed by the crowd, just as they were, 
arrayed in motley, but they were too late to 
prevent Boisot from capturing or sinking fourteen 
Spanish ships and taking one Spanish admiral 
prisoner. Thus again the rebels found fortune 
kinder on the sea than on land. 

The one slight success was insufficient, however, 
to restore heart to the Prince. He was terribly 
cast down. In his lonely despondency, he turned 
with pathetic persistency to his one surviving 
brother. "I have sent you ten messengers [he 
wrote, April 22d] but can obtain no news." 1 
Indeed the majority of his despatches never 
reached their destination. In 1593 an intercepted 
letter of May 7, 1574, fell into the hands of William 
Louis of Nassau, one of Count John's sons, who 
returned it to Count Maurice. It is written after ■ 
Orange has at last reluctantly accepted the fact 
of Louis's death and shows his desire to bring 
John into close touch with him as a substitute 
for his vanished right hand. 

And, Monsieur my brother, that you may have a 
clear idea of our ordinary expenses simply for soldiery 
and ships, without including extraordinary things 
like artillery, ammunition, scouts, fortifications, 
governors' salaries, messengers, spies, commissioners 
that have to be sent here and there, expenses of the 
people in foreign courts, and such like things, I 
send herewith a summary of the men-at-arms and 

1 Groen, iv., p. 378. 



270 



William the Silent 



[15743 



the boats we have. ist. In South Holland, 71 
companies — French, English, Scotch, Walloons, and 
Flemish. In Zealand, 14 companies. In Water- 
land, 20 companies. As to boats, we have in Hol- 
land, 6 sloops and 20 other ships, both drommelers 
and ships of transport. In Waterland, 8 big ships, 
6 galleys, 5 catboats, 10 boeyers, and others called 
water scows schepen, which make in all, counting 
the galleys, 102 bottoms. This is all I can write 
you at present on the state of our affairs and the 
necessity we are under of being aided, hoping shortly 
to send you some one to explain matters more fully. x 

1 Hague archives. Groen, iv., 378. 




ORANGE MEDAL 



CHAPTER XIII 

THE SIEGE OF LEIDEN 
1574 

THE mutiny disposed of, the Spanish leaders 
resumed the blockade before Leiden, begun 
in the winter and interrupted by the Nassau 
invasion. The burghers ought to have profited 
by the interval to prepare for the contingency 
of a new attempt, but all precautionary measures 
had been neglected and Leiden was in no better 
state to withstand a siege than it had been when 
Don Frederic first took steps towards possessing 
himself of the city. 

By the end of May, the foe, under De Valdez, 
had gone so far as to cut off the approaches from 
south, east, and west. x Within the walls, not only 
was the insufficient provision fraught with danger 
to the citizens, but also the lack of solid cohesion 
among themselves. The majority were, indeed, 
Protestant, but there were many shades in the 
colour of their zeal for the cause of the rebellion 
against Philip. Some were devoted heart and soul 
to the Prince and willing to live or die with him. 

1 Fruin, Het beleg en ontzet der stad Leiden in 1574, ii., 381. 
271 



272 William the Silent [15741 

Others would have stopped short of dying, finding 
their own life sweet and disposed to adhere to the 
rebel leader only if too much were not at stake. 
Then there was a small minority vigorously 
and conscientiously opposed to the new order and 
anxious to see a united land return to passive 
obedience to King and to Church. These were 
called "papists," not Catholics, — a name meant 
to imply fidelity to the Pope rather than to their 
country. In all these parties, the lowest classes 
were the most zealous. In the ascending social 
scale, there was a corresponding increase in in- 
differentism. Among the well-to-do, many were 
to be found who were disinclined to sacrifice 
themselves for either party but were willing to 
accept any authority under which their property 
might not only be safe, but where it might possibly 
increase. Such is the estimate of public opinion 
as given by a clever contemporary, one Jan van 
der Does, or Janus Douza, Seignior of Noordwyck, 
and probably it is a faithful picture. He is 
especially severe upon the manufacturers and 
the captains of the gilds who urged accommo- 
dation with the foe before it was too late, and 
also, upon the city officials who at first were as 
lukewarm in the defensive measures as they 
had been in their declaration for the Prince in 
1572. Luckily for the nationalist cause a new 
member was added to the town council who 
finally succeeded in infusing a spirit of tena- 
cious resistance into all the wavering elements of 



[1574] The Siege of Leiden 273 

that body. He was one Pieter Adriansz Ver- 
meer, better known as Adrian van der Werff, 
from the calling of weaver which he had followed 
before his participation in the protests of 1566 
had obliged him to leave Leiden. During the 
years of exile he had come under the personal 
influence of the Prince, and had also forged strong 
links of friendship with other refugees. In 1573 
he was one of the burgomasters of Leiden. During 
the second blockade he was at the head of affairs 
as presiding burgomaster. His appointment 
was especially fortunate, as his three colleagues, 
Cornelius van Zwieten, Cornelius van Noorden, 
and Jan Halfleiden, were all insignificant, selfish 
characters. The city secretary, Jan van Hout, was 
of better stuff and did valiant service. The third 
staying element among the besieged was em- 
bodied in a man not a resident of Leiden and not 
a local official whose name is closely identified 
with the events, the above mentioned Jan van der 
Does. When in the city he enjoyed the privilege 
of a seat in the assembly of town councillors and 
notables (vroedschap) from his membership in 
the Estates of Holland, and his unswerving per- 
sonal devotion to the Prince and to the cause of 
revolt inspired him to urge cohesion among the 
divers constituents of the population. 

Possibly one reason why there was so much 
delay and negligence at Leiden in preparation to 
withstand a siege and why the more timid coun- 
sels prevailed, was the strenuous effort to con- 



274 William the Sitent [1574] 

ciliate the citizens made by Requesens. A pardon 
was offered which the royalists within Leiden 
were especially anxious should be accepted. More- 
over the new governor had abolished the Council 
of Troubles, remitted the tenth penny, permitted 
Alva's statue to be destroyed, and showed many 
more evidences of a desire to inaugurate a new 
era in the administration of the provinces and 
to propitiate the people. Many of the anti-war 
citizens actually ensconced themselves within 
Spanish lines whence they sent back fervent 
entreaties to their friends to be wise and accept 
the King's generous proffers of forgiveness. Prob- 
ably it was Douza with his literary turn of mind 
who suggested the trenchant answer to these 
"Glippers, " as they were termed: "Fistula dulce 
canit volucrem dum decipit anceps," — " Sweetly 
sounds the pipe as the bird catcher snares the 
bird." J A less pedantic but equally definite 
answer was given to the "Glippers" by the re- 
quisition of a new oath of allegiance to the Prince 
and to the States- General, which many were quite 
as unwilling to refuse as to accept. 

The pardon not proving acceptable, the Spanish 
lines were drawn close and the memorable siege 
began. A terrible pest stalked through the ranks 
of besiegers and garrison alike and made its way 
unchallenged into the city; the troops mutinied, 
provisions gave out, the half-hearted swelled the 

1 A favourite phrase of warning at this time. Dr. Wotton 
uses it in reference to the Peace of Cateau-Cambresis. 



tl574i The Siege of Leiden 275 

ranks of the seceded Glippers or at least echoed 
their protests at the useless sacrifice of life. 
Nevertheless the stout-hearted made the others 
hold out even though, they felt that the efforts of 
their friends without the walls were criminally slow. 
These latter were not idle indeed, but the plan 
of rescue finally adopted was on so large a scale 
that it was dependent on divers elements and 
some could not be hastened. For it was resolved 
to pierce the dikes, overflow the land, and sail a 
relief fleet up toward the city so that the Spanish 
camp could be assailed from the west ! It was on 
July 30th, after the siege had lasted two months, 
that the States- General passed the formal resolu- 
tions providing "that Rynland, Delftland, Schie- 
land, and adjacent districts should be flooded . . . 
in order to dislodge the foe . . . and to relieve 
Leiden by ships. ..." 

Difficulties of engineering, of finance, of private 
ownership, were all set aside. We know some 
of the objections urged and the answers given: 
" Leiden was higher than the meadows. " "Then 
*a greater volume of water must be obtained." 
1 ' Crops would be destroyed. " " Better a drowned 
land than a lost land. " "There was no money. " 
"Holland had already paid for defence ten times 
the sums refused in taxes to Philip II. and 
funds would be forthcoming to make that sacri- 
ficed already, valid, etc." A placard of August 
1st enjoined the inhabitants of the doomed 
region to place their cattle and families in 



276 William the Silent [1574] 

safety under penalty of confiscation of their prop- 
erty. There were some natural delays and then 
the dike was formally pierced in the Prince's 
presence at Capelle, a few miles east of Rotterdam. 
Louis de Boisot was called from Zealand to take 
command of the novel expedition and a large 
fleet of flatboats with light draft was brought 
together. The measures adopted were all sound 
and eminently practical, — only terribly slow to 
the hungry, waiting Leideners. 

Then a great misfortune happened which 
almost blocked the whole project. The Prince 
of Orange fell ill and his condition became so 
serious that his recovery was despaired of. The 
illness to which he succumbed was an acute 
culmination of recurrent accesses of intermittent 
fever from which he had suffered during the winter 
of 1573-74. I n a l° w state of health as he was, 
his condition was aggravated by the protracted 
anxiety about his brothers, and by the final sorrow 
at their fate. Thus miasmas that might have 
lurked along the dikes found a fertile soil for 
their poison. The fever remained doubly inter- 
mittent rather than continuous, but one access 
followed very quickly on the other. Dr. Pieter 
van Foreest was the doctor invited to consult 
with the Prince's regular medical attendant, 
when the latter failed to inspire confidence as the 
situation became grave. 

When I was called to the Prince your father [writes 



[1574] The Siege of Leiden 277 

van Foreest in a dedication of his Observations to 
Count Maurice 1 ] his recovery was despaired of by- 
others. In the first instance, I told his Excellency the 
nature and cause of his malady and stated the treat- 
ment I intended to pursue. He then remarked to his 
friends: "This doctor understands my constitution, 
condition, and the nature of my malady. Next to 
God, my hope is fixed on him. I give myself en- 
tirely into his hands." And his confidence was not 
misplaced. With the help of God, to whom I am 
willing to accord the honour of the recovery, I re- 
stored to the fatherland the most excellent Prince, to 
you the beloved father. . . . 

It is not surprising that the doctor is a trifle 
vainglorious in recounting his achievement. There 
was grave reason for the despair of the others. 

Every conceivable treatment had been employed, — 
cupping, aloe, pills. These remedies applied to a 
body exhausted by previous fevers, by anxiety, and 
by overwork, only served to increase the bilious 
symptoms, instead of relieving them, and to cause 
diminution of strength under the steadily rising 
temperature. When I was called in, on the advice 
of John Philip van der Aa, I found the patient very 
low and noticed, in addition to the persistent fever, 
other disturbing symptoms, to wit, a bilious dis- 
charge that drained his strength, high temperature, 
and inextinguishable thirst, allied with such ex- 
haustion that the patient could not sit up to have his 
bed made without becoming faint. Once his secre- 

1 Fruin, Over eenige ziekten van Prinz Willen, Verspreide 
geschriften, iii., p. 40. 



278 William the Silent [1574] 

taries made use of an occasion when he was sitting 
up to obtain his signature to various documents 
that had long been waiting and he fainted away 
so completely that the nobles attending him thought 
he was dead, but luckily he came to when I 
had him rubbed and sprinkled his face with water. 
After he was assisted back to bed, he drew breath 
again. 

As soon as I saw the patient's regimen, I considered 
it inevitable that he should have grown worse. He 
was taking warm food and heating drinks, as for 
example, red wine. . . . After I had made my 
diagnosis, I had the diet changed and especially 
forbade French wine. His Exc. heard my orders and 
asked, "But what shall I drink while I am so con- 
sumed by thirst?" and I answered modestly, "Your 
Excellency is suffering from a violent fever of a serious 
nature, not yet dangerous, but possible to become so 
if it be fed by wine." I advised barley water or 
cinnamon water, if he preferred it, as he did. The 
change of treatment had not been followed more 
than a week before certain alarming symptoms dis- 
appeared and the accesses of fever abated, although 
the temperature still continued high. . . . Every 
time the patient took nourishment, even a sirup or 
julep, the fever increased instantly,, sometimes with 
a chill and sometimes with the fingers growing cold, 
just as in hectic fever, a feature of the case that 
alarmed me greatly, considering the inyalid's con- 
stitution and the manner in which it had been un- 
dermined. The diet was kept very low for some 
time, — an egg, a little blanc-mange, and some con- 
fitures, — just enough to keep the spirit in the body, 
but insufficient to increase vitality. 



tl574] The Siege of Leiden 279 

In order further to make sure that he was 
doing the best for his illustrious patient, van 
Foreest held a consultation together with Hadrian 
Junius, a learned physician, and the Prince's 
house-doctor in ordinary. They all three agreed 
that a plaster on the stomach might be beneficial 
at that crisis. Unfortunately Junius caught the 
fever at the consultation and carried it back to 
Middelburg with him, and was himself too ill to 
be summoned, while the house-doctor lost all hope 
and all initiative; thus in spite of the consulta- 
tion, the final responsibility rested on van Foreest, 
who showed great ingenuity and readiness not 
only in altering his prescriptions with every 
minute change of condition but in alleviating 
discomfort. 

For instance, the weather turned hot and the 
shooting gallery in which the invalid lay opened 
upon a garden exposed to the sun on all sides. 
Moreover it was on the first story, floored with 
wood, and very hot on that account. There was 
no other convenient room at hand and the patient 
was too weak to be carried far. "We had to cool 
the room as best we could, with sprinkling water 
and strewing green boughs and leaves.. . ." 

On September 2d, Brunynck writes to Count 
John: 

Until yesterday the malady increased steadily, but 
since then, thanks to God, his Excellency has begun to 
feel some relief. Yesterday there was no access of 



280 William the Silent [1574] 

fever. His Excellency rested well all last night and 
consequently we have hopes that his Excellency is 
now out of danger. 

The improvement continued steadily, the most 
alarming symptoms slowly yielding to gentle reme- 
dies such as confiture of roses, lemon and quince 
sirups. Thirst was assuaged with cherry or currant 
juice, sleep was lured by barley drink. When the fever 
slackened and was followed by a wholesome perspira- 
tion, we stopped the cinnamon water and gave instead 
thin beer mixed with wine and vinegar to support 
strength. This was to his taste. Little by little 
more solid food was administered in order to build up 
the depleted system as rapidly as possible. This 
was prepared with the juice of unripe grapes, lemons, 
bouillon of capucines, and confitures of pistachio nuts. 
The result of the care was that his Excellency re- 
covered completely, contrary to universal expecta- 
tion and to the disappointment of his foes, who had 
reported that he had succumbed to the pest. The 
death of the Prince's body physician followed shortly 
on this illness, and henceforth, whenever he was ill 
in Holland, the Prince invariably asked my advice 
[adds the doctor]. 1 

By September 7th, Orange was able to write 
to his brother, giving little space to his illness, 
from which he still feels very weak, and much to 
the cares that oppress him. 2 He never had head- 

1 Groen, v., p. 50! It is worthy of notice that van Foreest's 
statements tally with the letters written from the Prince's 
household. 

2 Groen, v., p. 52. 



[1574] The Siege of Leiden 281 

ache in the fever attacks 1 so that his brain was 
fairly clear to think during the illness. Acute 
mental depression was the natural result of this 
feverish contemplation of difficulties. A tendency 
to worry pervades the whole letter. The conva- 
lescent has by no means recovered his normal tone. 
He worries about expenses. He is afraid of Ger- 
man aid. Agreeable as it would be to have the 
company of several nobles with whom John is 
negotiating, especially Count Albert of Hohenlohe, 
the Prince does not see any possible way of main- 
taining them. "I assure you no matter how 
closely I calculate, still we come out short every 
month in what we need and at the same time we 
do not cease doing our best to keep hold of every 
one now in office by promises for the future." 
The reports of large treasure taken at Middelburg 
are false. "There was barely enough to satisfy 
the soldiers and sailors, etc." 

As soon as his strength permitted, the Prince 
wrote to Leiden, begging the people to persist 
in their resistance. The tiny letter, tied around 
a pigeon's neck, 2 reached its destination and aided 
van der Werff and van der Does to keep the counsel 
of the weak-hearted from prevailing. It was 
three weeks later before Orange was allowed to be 
rowed out to the fleet and consult with Boisot 
and his officers as to their plans. 

The difficulties of bringing relief to Leiden had 

1 Maurice inherited the characteristic of fever without head- 
ache, rare among the Netherlanders. 
a It is still preserved. 



282 William the Silent 



[1574] 



by no means been solved by the piercing of the 
dikes, and calling in the friendly sea as an ally. 
The twenty-mile cruise across the meadows did 
not prove easy sailing. The wind was counted 
as an important factor in causing the water to 
rise to the depth required even for the meagre 
draught of the flat -bottomed craft and that proved 
a fickle friend. It was a north-west wind that 
was needed to force the water inland. The pre- 
vailing wind in that region is westerly, as is testi- 
fied by the long rows of trees bending as in homage 
towards the rising sun, but in those September 
days of 1574 a land breeze blew persistently 
and the water refused to rise in the teeth of the 
east wind. It was on September nth that the 
fleet, sixteen galleys with a number of transports, 
started in at Nootdorp. They succeeded in 
crossing the Lands cheiding at the place proposed, 
but were stopped at another dike on the 17th, 
retraced the course, made a circuit around the 
village of Segwaert, held by the Spaniards, and 
pushed slowly on. There was some fighting from 
time to time and the noise of the firing was always 
most encouraging to the besieged, to whom the 
delays seemed interminable. 

In the city the food supplies dwindled and 
the pest increased, and the despairing Leideners 
had no idea that the foe were in a state of terror 
and trepidation quite equal to theirs within the 
walls. Valdez sent despatches to his chief with 
piteous accounts of the rising water, especially 



[15741 The Siege of Leiden 283 

after the 18th, when the wind was north-west. 
This intruding flood, creeping noiselessly up to 
their tents, was infinitely more disquieting to the 
Spanish than it would have been to Hollanders 
with their hereditary familiarity with the sea 
and its invasions. For them the flood was un- 
conscionably slow. When the Prince visited the 
fleet, on the 28th, it had lain a whole week at 
Noord Aa, helpless. On the 29th, the east wind 
had repelled the water until it was only nine 
inches high on the flooded land and at least 
eighteen inches were necessary for movement. 
On the 29th the fine weather which had permitted 
the Prince to make the expedition from Delft 
changed, the sky darkened, the water rose and 
carried the Netherlanders on their cruise over 
the slime up to the foe. Then ensued the first 
naval engagement fought on land. This was 
between the first and second of October and was 
so far to the advantage of the Netherlanders that 
dawn found the whole fleet advanced beyond 
Zoeterwoude with the wide waterway called the 
Vliet conveniently at hand to bear the rescuers 
henceforth with less difficulty towards Leiden. 
Poles had been more efficient than sails and oars 
in bringing the boats over the slimy ground 
upon which they actually rested in most cases. 
Then the water again began to rise and rose 
steadily, to the infinite discomfort of the foe, who 
were more unnerved by the silent, cold invader 
than by any cannonading. Zoeterwoude was 



284 William the Silent [1574] 

abandoned, the garrison wading away knee-deep 
in water. This left the second line of the blockade 
broken. 

The strong Spanish fort of Lammen still barred 
the invaders from their goal and its capture was 
necessary before Boisot felt that- his advance 
was secure. How easy the way was to be made 
for him he could not know. At Zoeterwoude 
Valdez had seen for himself the strength of a union 
of Beggars and water, and his own course of 
action was promptly decided. The commander 
at Lammen was ordered to withdraw to Leiderdorp 
without waiting for any attack and from Leider- 
dorp the whole Spanish force quietly slipped off 
en masse to The Hague. Valdez took care to leave 
a note on his table in his deserted quarters to 
excuse his retreat: "Farewell city, farewell little 
forts, abandoned on account of the water, not 
because of the force of the enemy,' ' x an explana- 
tion that must have been highly satisfactory to all 
concerned. 

The plans Boisot spent the night in making 
proved quite unnecessary. Within Leiden there 
was fresh anxiety. They anxiously listened to 
hear the sound of the attack of whose imminence 
a pigeon had brought them tidings. The silence 
was hard to bear. But it was not long before 
the first boats of the fleet, looming out of the 
October mist, proved conclusively that the strange 

1 " Vale civitas, valete castelli parvi, qui relicti estis propter 
aquam et non per vim inimicorum." 



[15741 The Siege of Leiden 285 

hush in the air was friendly, not inimical to them. 
At nine o'clock on the morning of October 3d, 
the first relief party sprang ashore on the Vliet- 
bridge and the siege of Leiden was at an end with 
triumph for the burghers. Pitiable however was 
their condition and Boisot found the task on his 
hands of restoring the city to itself as hard as 
that of reaching its gates. 

October the third was a Sunday and the Prince 
was sitting quietly in the great church at Delft, 
when a letter was delivered to him describing 
the above events. Possibly his thoughts were 
already more occupied with Leiden than with 
the discourse that was in progress. As soon as 
that sermon came to an end, Orange sent the 
despatch to the preacher to be read from the 
pulpit and the concluding prayer was a glad 
thanksgiving for the victory. 

On the following day Orange hastened to Leiden 
in the face of protests that there was especial 
danger for a convalescent in the poisoned air. 
Before leaving Delft he began a letter to Count 
John which he finished the same day at Leiden. 1 
"I cannot tell you how great joy there is among 
the citizens at the relief. We hope that hence- 
forth there will be more prudence and that this 
God-given victory will bear fresh fruit." 

For ten days Orange stayed in the wounded 
city, using as his headquarters the house of Dirk 
Jacobusz. van Montfort, a citizen of standing, 

1 Groen, v., p. 66. 



286 William the Silent [15741 

not m the government. He at once proceeded to 
install an efficient garrison and to see that Leiden 
was adequately provisioned for two years; and 
then he assumed the charge of reorganising the 
government, an action that must be regarded as 
a war measure, for he certainly set aside privileges 
cherished by Leiden as by all these petty city- 
states. 

Two gifts were bestowed on the city by the 
States-General and the Prince, — permission to 
hold an annual fair, scot-free, and the erection 
of the university, — the first Protestant school on 
Netherland soil. In this last there was wonder- 
ful expedition. On February 5, 1575, only four 
months and two days after the raising of the siege, 
a corps of professors were established in a vacated 
convent, and the new seat of learning was opened 
with the elaborate ceremonies and allegorical 
representations so dear to the hearts of the 
Netherlanders. 

The preamble to the university charter is note- 
worthy, inasmuch as the fiction of Philip's sov- 
ereignty is steadfastly maintained, and the most 
Catholic monarch is represented as erecting the 
Protestant academy as a signal reward to Leiden 
for her persistency in keeping his faithful general 
out of her gates. 

Considering [so runs the preamble of the charter] 
that during these present wearisome wars within our 
provinces of Holland and Zealand, all good instruc- 



[15741 



The Siege of Leiden 



287 



tion of youth in the sciences and liberal arts seems 
threatened with oblivion . . . considering the dif- 
ferences of religion; considering that we are inclined 
to gratify our city of Leiden ... on account of 
the heavy burdens sustained by her citizens with 
such faithfulness during the war, we have resolved 
after ripely deliberating with our dear cousin, William, 
Prince of Orange, Stadtholder, etc., to erect a free 
academy and university, etc. 1 



Then this royal benefactor is made, by the 
articles of this grant, to entrust "his dear cousin' * 
of Orange with all power needful to regulate the 
details and policy of the infant institution. 

^or, vii., p. 593. 




HOLLAND MEDAL 



CHAPTER XIV 

NEW ALLIANCES 

i 574-1 575 

WHEN the strain of the siege of Leiden was 
relieved the Prince took certain measures 
to define his own status both in public and private 
affairs. It was as though his convalescence were 
a new birth and fresh equipment became neces- 
sary for his revived energies. 

The form of administration for the transaction 
of official business without the countenance of the 
hereditary sovereign, as adopted by the Estates 
of Holland in 1572, had furnished, to be sure, a 
working basis for the time being, but, naturally 
from its provisional origin, when the outcome 
of the revolt of the group of cities was totally 
uncertain, this basis proved a defective platform 
for a long period, when the conduct of a war was 
at stake. Orange had refrained from accepting 
the degree of supremacy the "Estates" had been 
inclined to intrust him with, not because that 
body was anomalous, as it was, but because his 
political creed taught that more vital and wide- 
spread participation in national defence would be 

288 



1574-1575] New Alliances 289 

best secured if a sense of common responsibility- 
were felt. It was at his instance that the execu- 
tive control was lodged, nominally at least, in 
the Estates, while he kept himself somewhat in 
the background, playing the role of moderator 
between the various selfish interests present in 
that assembly of deputies. He was determined 
to enlist the sympathies of every class of Hol- 
landers in the cause that had to be common prop- 
erty if success were to be won. Orange wanted 
to see attained for the chaotic government the 
greatest measure of militant power mathemati- 
cally possible as the sum resultant from the meeting 
of cross currents and he neglected nothing that 
might contribute to that end. 

Two years of trial proved the inherent weakness 
of the system. The burden of endeavouring to 
steer with the clumsy barnacle-covered rudder 
grew intolerable and Orange determined to de- 
mand reorganisation. On October 20, 1574, ne 
appeared in person before the Estates of Holland 
and presented a plain statement of the difficulties 
that were clogging their course. One of his 
personal grievances was the popular conception 
of his own relation to public concerns. People 
seemed to think that he was battling for his private 
interests, and, further, they were criticising him 
for failures while he was left without adequate 
resources to avert a repetition of similar calam- 
ities. Therefore he proposed that the Estates 
should assume the entire administration, civil 



290 William the Silent [1574- 

and military alike, and let him withdraw from 
the scene of action, or that they should now 
strengthen his hands so that he could wield the 
helm effectively in their behalf and at their 
behest. 

This address was considered until November 
19th and the reply to it was definite, consisting of 
an official request that "his Excellency should 
assume, under the title of governor or regent, 
the superintendence, supremacy, and rule of Hol- 
land with the co-operation of the Estates, vassals, 
inhabitants, etc., to this end there being conferred 
upon his Excellency absolute power, authority, 
and sovereign control in the conduct of the com- 
mon affairs of the land without exception." 

Before accepting this apparently liberal propo- 
sition the Prince further stipulated that a monthly 
allowance of 45,000 florins must accompany the 
delegated authority. He absolutely refused the 
compromise of 30,000 florins proposed on Novem- 
ber 25th, declaring that rather than attempt the 
impossible, he would leave the country and let 
who would follow him. Then affairs could be 
managed as cheaply as the burghers desired. The 
deputies took alarm at his displeasure and voted 
the 45,000 florins that very day without further 
bickering. x 

It chances that there is a sketch of the Prince's 
methods of handling public business while the 

1 Muller, De Staat der vereenigde Nederlanden, p. 122, etc.; 
Groen, v., p. 90, etc.; Blok, iii., p. 151; Kluit i., p. 95. 



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1575] New Alliances 291 

division of authority between him and the Es- 
tates was vague and ill-defined. It occurs inci- 
dentally in the Memoir es of Count Louis's former 
secretary, who had passed over to the service of 
the young Duke of Conde after the disaster of 
Mook Heath. The leadership of the French 
Protestants was divided at this time between 
Henry of Navarre and Conde, and it was the latter 
who was anxious that a fresh alliance, offensive 
and defensive, should be struck between the 
Huguenots and the Beggars. In the autumn of 
1574 Michel de la Huguerye was despatched with 
letters from his master to Orange urging a union 
of interests, and on November 29th arrived at 
Dordrecht, the Prince's headquarters for the 
moment, and was admitted to a private interview. x 
Orange is very friendly in giving ear to all that the 
confidential messenger can tell him over and above 
the contents of the letters. In order to avoid 
interruption by going to supper the Prince even 
orders a tray of refreshments brought into his 
cabinet and the tete-a-tete conversation is con- 
tinued over the evening meal and far into the 
night, to the infinite satisfaction of the envoy, 
highly encouraged by the intimate character 
of his reception by the great man. At a late 
hour La Huguerye sought his lodgings confi- 
dent that he had convinced the Prince of the 
futility of expecting any assistance from France 

*La Huguerye, Memoires, i., p. 276; see also Blok, Lodewijk 
van Nassau, p. 3. 



292 William the Silent [1574- 

except at the hands of the French Protestants, the 
natural allies of the Gueux. He was over-san- 
guine. Before he was accorded a second inter- 
view with Orange, another French messenger rode 
into Dordrecht, this time from the Catholic court, 
and the fresh batch of letters brought by him to 
the Prince contained more or less definite offers 
of pecuniary aid against Spain. The Valois who 
thus took the initiative had the revenues of the 
realm at their disposal. To be sure La Huguerye 
was not alone in his conviction of the folly of 
taking any such offers seriously when it was but 
two years since Catherine de' Medici and her son 
had proven their capacity for treachery by the 
Massacre of St. Bartholomew. This was the 
argument he had reiterated in his talk with Orange. 
The Prince's reasoning was, however, that, though 
anti-Protestant, the French King had ample 
grounds to be anti-Spanish. Further, Henry III. 
might find it politic to whiten the reputation of 
the French court; and finally if he were disposed 
to furnish money to a cause, he was in a position 
to open his purse-strings, while young Conde 
and Henry of Navarre, with all their good will, 
were pitifully poor and their followers were no 
richer than their brothers in the Faith across 
the border. So the mere suggestion of an alli- 
ance with the court party, whatever might be the 
Valois reasons for their conciliatory step, made 
Orange very unwilling to jeopardise the chance 
of cementing the pact by involving himself with 



1575] New Alliances 293 

the Huguenots. When La Huguerye was again 
summoned to the Prince's presence he found the 
atmosphere changed. Orange told him that he 
himself was not competent to give any answer 
to Conde's propositions. All that was in his 
power was to lay the matter before the Estates, 
which he pledged himself to do. 

This shattered my hopes [continues the writer] 
for I knew by experience that when he [the Prince] was 
favourable to a measure he adopted it readily on his 
own initiative in order to have all the credit for its 
success, but if he were opposed to a proposition he 
referred it to the Estates and threw on them the 
odium of the refusal so as to avoid incurring un- 
friendly criticism for himself. 

If Orange did, indeed, conceive the expedient 
of letting a numerous body bear the onus of the 
blame for an unpopular decision, he simply re- 
lieved his own shoulders as many an adminis- 
trator has done since. It must be remembered, 
however, that La Huguerye is not an accurate 
reporter nor was he among the Prince's ardent 
admirers. He is often inclined to give an un- 
favourable colour to the leader's action. 

In the winter months of 1574-5, overtures were 
made towards an accommodation between the 
insurgents and their sovereign in which a recog- 
nition of the Prince's more assured position was 
implied if not acknowledged. Philip was urged 
to make peace by the Emperor and it was through 



294 William the Silent [1574- 

the mediation of the latter that a formal con- 
ference was arranged at Breda. The discussions 
lasted for three months although the outcome 
was a foregone conclusion from the opening day, 
March 6th. The Spanish deputies were able 
men and the hostages were of as high rank as 
Julian Romero, so that the safety of the rebels' 
deputies entrusting themselves within Spanish 
lines was amply secured by the presence of the 
royalist guarantees sojourning at Delft. Breda, 
the Prince's own town, was in Brabant and still 
held as a Spanish garrison. 

Undoubtedly Philip felt that he was making 
wonderful concessions in his appointments and 
in the liberal conditions proposed to induce the 
insurgents to lay down their arms. Long periods 
were offered to the Protestants to gather up their 
goods and to leave the Netherlands if they would 
not return to the Church. They were to be free 
to appoint trustees among their Catholic friends 
to care for their estates until sold. Confiscation 
and persecution were thus to be abandoned for 
pacific methods of separating the sheep from the 
goats, but the two were not to be allowed within 
one fold. Philip could not stretch his conscience 
to countenancing heresy under his jurisdiction. 
He had changed somewhat from his tone of 1566, 
but he still refused to recognise the impossibility 
of extirpating the creeds that had sunk tenacious 
roots into the soil. Hence accommodation was 
utterly impossible even had there been no fear 



1575] New Alliances 295 

of "Spanish honey" and if the negotiations could 
have been taken in good faith to the extent of 
the inadequate provisions offered. And grave 
doubt was felt in that regard. 

On July 13, 1575, the Breda conferences were 
concluded and the truce called into being to per- 
mit them, expired. Yet the event left permanent 
results. 

It was during the negotiations and after their 
speedy collapse was evident to all, that a closer 
union between Holland and Zealand, with the 
Prince as joint ruler, was resolved upon. x Before 
setting his own seal to the contract Orange insisted 
on an important change in the draft. In so doing 
he was perfectly consistent with his uniform policy 
in relation to the burning questions of religious free- 
dom. One article provided that Orange, as chief 
executive, was to protect the exercise of the re- 
formed and suppress the exercise of the Roman re- 
ligion. The words here italicised were changed at 
his instance to religion at variance with the gospel. 
Such was the limited degree of toleration which 
the sectaries suffered him to phrase ambiguously. 

1 In the discussions as to the more formal installation of Orange 
into the duties of his sometime stadtholdership, there were many 
opinions embodying various shades of confidence in and depend- 
ence upon him. One proposition emanating from the Zealand 
contingent distinctly forshadowed the hereditary status later 
enjoyed by the Nassaus. It was suggested that the six-year-old 
Maurice should be brought from Dillenburg to Holland and 
recognised as successor, under guardianship, to his father in case 
of the latter's sudden death. Orange rejected the proposal 
unhesitatingly. 



296 William the Silent H574- 

Thus at the beginning of the summer of 1575 
the Prince was sheltered by a cloak of authority 
conferred upon him by an assembly, partly con- 
stituent, into which he had himself infused a 
prerogative, — authority that he could, de facto, 
have assumed two years previously. His headship 
in the one province of Holland had been first 
established and defined. Then a " generality" 
was obtained by the union and the Breda con- 
ferences lent a dignity to the party of revolt. 
Orange was placed in a quasi-legal position, as a 
revolutionary leader forced into an assumption 
of executive power by the popular needs of the 
hour. In all the methods employed there was no 
anarchy. Laws and ancient usage were simply 
bent to fit new contingencies. 

The next steps taken by the Prince were 
towards the reconstruction of a new household 
for himself. The last vestiges of the Saxon 
marriage were to be wiped away as completely 
as the links between provinces and sovereign were 
to be severed. His sometime wife had passed 
entirely out of her husband's life. He considered 
himself a widower de facto, perfectly free to marry 
again. The unfortunate Anne of Saxony, steeped 
in the misery she had brought upon herself, 
remained under the protection of the Nassaus 
until 1575, when Grange insisted that her own 
relatives should resume her charge. He shows 
no remnants of. affection for the mother of Anne, 



1575] New Alliances 297 

Maurice, and Emilie and says very plainly in his 
letters to Count John that he does not object 
to the Elector's plan of incarcerating his niece 1 
and letting a report of her death go abroad, only 
he stipulates that the Saxon family must bear 
the full onus for such procedure. There is not 
the slightest hesitancy or double dealing on the 
Prince's part now. His methods are different 
from those he used in 1560 to reconcile his divers 
critics. Again there are opposing forces among 
those concerned in the suit that preceded his 
proposed marriage but the suitor does not try to 
appease them. He declares that he alone is the 
judge of his actions and ignores all dissuading 
voices. The story of the woman whom he selected 
to be his wife is a curious one and typical of the 
changing order in France. 

Charlotte de Bourbon was the fourth of five 
daughters born to Louis de Bourbon, Duke of 
Montpehsier, and his wife Jacqueline de Long- vie. 
Francois, known as the prince dauphin, was the 
only son. The eldest daughter, Francoise, mar- 
ried Henry Robert de la Marck, Duke of Bouillon, 2 
two others made less notable but honourable 
alliances; while the remaining two were provided 
for in religious foundations. Charlotte was dedi- 
cated to a celibate career almost at her 
birth, as there was a fine opening for her in pros- 
pect. Louise de Long- vie, Jacqueline's sister, the 

1 Groen, v., p. 195. 

2 He was the grandson of Diane de Poitiers* 



298 William the Silent H574- 

abbess of Jouarre, agreed to bequeath the dignities 
and emoluments of that rich convent to her 
niece. Born in 1546 or '47, Charlotte was de- 
livered over to her aunt's care at a tender age 
and was brought up at Jouarre. In 1559 the lady 
abbess fell ill and became anxious that the desired 
succession should be absolutely assured. At the 
urgent request of the dying woman seconded by 
the Duke and Duchess, the little girl was induced 
to take the veil. As witnesses to the ceremony 
there were Dame Jeanne Chabot, prioress, Dame 
Cecile Crue, destined to succeed to that place 
when Jouarre' s prioress rose to be abbess of 
Paraclet, besides all the nuns in chapter assembled. 
Claude Bonnard, avocat au parlement, bailiff and 
legal adviser of the abbey, was also present, as 
well as M. Ruze, also avocat au parlement, coun- 
sellor and special representative of the candidate's 
parents. The abbess of Paraclet came from the 
neighbouring convent to receive her young cous- 
in's vows made before the assembly in the chapel. 
How repugnant the novice's acceptance of the 
articles of faith were, a few nuns knew well, 
for, on March 16th, they had been witnesses to a 
formal declaration of the candidate that she was 
about to take her vows under compulsion, against 
her will and at the command of her parents, whom 
she feared to disobey. 1 This seems an extraor- 

1 Jeanne d'Albret was but twelve years old when she made 
(1540) a secret protest against her proposed marriage with the 
Duke of Cleves, witnessed by three officers of her household. 



15751 New Alliances 299 

dinary proceeding for a minor whose career would 
naturally have been at her parents' disposal, but 
the statement of its occurrence was made under 
oath and is thus no idle gossip. The prime reason 
for the compulsion was to keep the revenues of 
Jouarre in the family and to enable Charlotte 
to renounce her s,hare of her own inheritance in 
favour of her brother. The Duke thought it an 
excellent arrangement. To his mind silly scruples 
on the part of a child like Charlotte were easily 
brushed aside. Surely her parents knew better 
than she what was for her ultimate advantage. 
At any rate they were in a position to make good 
their desires. It only seems strange that such 
attention was paid to the girl's reluctance that 
two sets of articles were drawn up, one couched 
in mild terms, paroles douces et fort legeres, the 
other containing the ordinary legal vows which 
alone would have bound the novice irrevocably 
to the religious profession. Yet the accusation 
is made that this double set were used with de- 
liberate intention to deceive the candidate and 
were juggled with by the abbess of Paraclet. 

Six years passed and the little girl came to years 
of discretion. She had the training for, and ful- 
filled the duties of, convent-head, but she was 
not happy in her high estate. Some consideration 

1 ' All I may say hereafter . . . will be forcibly extorted against 
my will from dread of my father and of my mother who have 
threatened to have me whipped by . . . my governess. " This 
protest was considered when the marriage was annulled. 



300 William the Silent i«74- 

moved her when she was eighteen or nineteen 
to make a formal deposition before a notary of 
the circumstances attending her reception into 
the order. It chanced that a provincial synod 
of the reformed churches in France was held 
on April 27, 1564, at La Ferte sous Jouarre. This 
gathering of Huguenots at her very gates may 
have had its influence on the young abbess. She 
may have thought that the new faith was about 
to receive official recognition and that it would 
be well to begin to take steps to range herself with 
the anti-Catholic party. There were examples 
of such procedure within her ken. Charlotte's 
father belonged to the younger branch of the 
Bourbons and was strongly Catholic. In the 
elder branch, however, were the most notable 
of the Huguenots. Anthony de Bourbon, King of 
Navarre to be sure, wavered between Protestant- 
ism and the Church and finally threw in his 
fortunes if not his faith with the latter. But his 
brother Louis, Prince of Conde, and his wife, 
Jeanne d'Albret, never wavered and the Queen of 
Navarre was keenly alert to the legal position of 
her co-religionists. Direct evidence is not forth- 
coming but as she was warmly attached to Char- 
lotte and interested in her affairs, the surmise 
seems fair that it was she who advised certain 
legal steps as preliminary to Charlotte's renoun- 
cing her profession and that her counsel was 
seconded by the Duchess of Bouillon. At this 
date the Duchess of Montpensier was dead and 



1575J New Alliances 301 

so was her abbess sister. The former prioress 
of Jouarre was abbess of Paraclet; the Duke's 
counsellor, M. Ruze, was bishop in the comfort- 
able see of Angers. Possibly Charlotte had just 
attained an acknowledged majority. At any rate 
on August 25, 1565, the young abbess gathered 
about her the little group of sisters who had 
heard her protests in March, 1559, and ob- 
tained from them formal notarial statements x 
about her profession of faith. This document 
furnishes the details given above. "Against her 
own inclination, Dame' Charlotte de Bourbon, 
at present abbess of the abbey Notre Dame de 
Jouarre, was forced to take her vows by her father 
and by Madame Jaquette de Longwy his spouse. " 
The witnesses remembered distinctly how un- 
happy the girl had been, how she had protested 
on March 16th, how she had wept before the 
ceremony on the 17th and had continued her 
protestations after all had assembled in the chapel. 
The sworn testimony concluded with the state- 
ment that Charlotte had had it drawn up before 
the undersigned notaries "to serve her in such time 
and place as she may require.' ' The subscribers 
were Dames Jeanne Chabot and Cecile Crue and 
the sisters Michelle de Lafontaine, Jeanne de 
Vassery, Anne du Molinet, Jeanne de Mouson, 

1 Delaborde, Charlotte de Bourbon, pp. 7 and 9. It is quoted 
from MSS. Bibl. Nat., vol. 3182, p. 82; Collect. Clerambault, 
vol. 1 1 14, p. 182; Coustereau, Vie du due de Montpensier, p. 
217. 



302 William the Silent [1574- 

Antoinette de Fleury, and Louise d'Alouville. 
Still another important witness acknowledged the 
truth of this declaration seven months later. 

And I, the undersigned, who am mentioned in the 
above act and who was not present when the signa- 
tures were given, certify that the contents of the 
said act, all, the profession, declaration, protestations, 
and tears, were true and that I was a witness thereof. 
In testimony of which I have signed the present 
certificate, March 21, 1566, according to the ordi- 
nance of the king. (Signed) Jean Ruze. 

In nearly all the testimony given at this period 
and later, Jacqueline de Long-Vic is charged with 
the main responsibility in the arrangements for 
Charlotte. She seems to have been the active 
parent. "The Duke of Montpensier does not 
mingle in affairs but his wife does it for him. 
She is the Queen's gouvernante (Catherine de' 
Medici) and very intimate with her and able to 
obtain all she wants. 1 So says the Venetian 
J. Michiel." It is certainly doubtful whether 

1 Relazioni, i., p. 433. De Thou narrates that the Duchess im- 
plored the Qeen-mother to forma strong party of nobles to counter- 
act the Guises. A chancellor was needed to replace Oliver. The 
Duchess of Montpensier, the Queen's favourite, persuaded her to 
select a firm and courageous man to withstand their (the Guises') 
designs. In other words, Michel de l'Hopital, and to him the seals 
were given. (Hist. Univ., iii.,p. 498). De Thou asserts further that 
the Duchess intended Charlotte to marry the young Due de 
Longueville, a friend of Calvin. This does not chime in well with 
the assertion of the sisters that Charlotte was forced into her 
profession by her mother, the Duke not caring much about it. 



"15751 j New Alliances 303 

this "queen's favourite" were indeed Huguenot 
as is frequently stated, but it is quite certain that 
her daughter, the Duchess of Bouillon, was in the 
advance guard of the reformed party. In 1562 
her husband declared that "in a brief time he 
and his wife would eradicate the mass and priests 
from their lands and that this could not be pre- 
vented because it depended upon God and himself 
alone." At Sedan and Jannetz free asylum was 
offered to Huguenot refugees. Thus Francoise 
towards the east and Jeanne towards the west were 
friends ready to sympathise with Charlotte when 
she began to find her position irksome, but several 
years elapsed before she abandoned it for good 
and all. 

In 1570 the Duke of Montpensier, then fifty-five 
years of age, took a second wife, selecting the 
eighteen-year-old Catherine of Lorraine, sister of 
the Duke of Guise, first cousin to Mary Stuart. 
This alliance naturally brought the Duke closer 
to the ultra-Catholic party and undoubtedly was 
a factor towards influencing Charlotte to declare 
her own opinions and to resume a station in the 
world. Jeanne d'Albret answered an appeal for 
aid as follows * : 

My cousin : I have received your letter and am in- 
finitely sorry that I cannot serve you as I wish and I 

1 Copies of these letters of Jeanne d'Albret to Charlotte labelled 
Copies des lettres de le feue Reyne de Navarre are in the British 
Museum (MSS.Harley, 1582, f. 367). The handwriting is crabbed 



304 William the Silent HS74- 

beg you not to doubt my affection on that account. 
But your affair is so important that it must not be 
marred by the least fault, and since the bearer of this 
assures me that he can deliver my letter in safety 
I can tell you that we find no better expedient for you 
than what we have already suggested — to go to your 
sister Mme. de Bouillon and thence to Germany. 
And if you wish me to write again to the gentleman 
in question let me know and I will arrange your 
journey by my letters. I do not doubt that M. your 
father knowing that you are in a foreign land will 
prefer to have you with me in order to withdraw you 
from there, and this I desire infinitely so as to show 
you the affection which I bear you and to have you 
with me as my daughter. If I can attain that I will 
fulfil the office of mother in all that pertains to your 
grandeur and satisfaction. Everything, my cousin, 
must be managed wisely and secretly. Pray let me 
know through M. de Teligny who will deliver your 
letter to me safely what you wish me to do and make 
use of my friendship. 

On this assurance I will pray, my cousin, that God 
may grant you increase of His holy grace. 

Your very good cousin and perpetual friend, 

Jehanne. 
From La Rochelle, July 28, 1571. 

Here were definite suggestions. The large- 
hearted Jeanne d'Albret was delighted to give 
her kinswoman all that she could. She was not 
in a position to act openly. The negotiations 

and almost illegible. Careful comparison with the text printed 
by Delaborde shows some discrepancies but they are not import- 
ant for the actual meaning. 



1575} New Alliances 305 

for the marriage of her son Henry with Margaret 
de Valois were well under way. The alliance was 
not perhaps wholly desired by the Queen of 
Navarre in 1571, but she was nevertheless unwill- 
ing to jeopardise her son's interests in any way 
by alienating the court party. She hoped for 
more freedom later on. 

The young abbess proceeded to follow this 
advice though a few more months passed before 
her plan of escape could be completely matured. 
In February, 1572, Charlotte left Jouarre accom- 
panied by two nuns and Francois and George 
d'Averly besides a small escort of abbey soldiers. 
It was believed that she was going to pay a simple 
visit to the abbess of Paraclet. 

When the illustrious princess your mother [wrote 
Jacques Couet in the dedication of a treatise on pre- 
destination to Louise Juliana of Nassau, Electress 
Palatine 1 ] withdrew from superstition and popish 
idolatry and sped away from France as from the 
climate in which all men and women who desired to 
serve God purely were grievously persecuted with- 
out distinction of sex, age, or condition, princes and 
princesses of the blood royal such as she not being 
excepted any more than the common people, I know 
as eye-witness that she took the route for Sedan — 
to her sister — but she received advice and counsel, 
based on various notable considerations, not to go 
thither but to proceed farther if she desired to live 
in full tranquillity. As there was question of making 

I Delaborde, p. 27. 
20 



306 William the Silent [1574- 

for some safe port where she might count on shelter 
secure from the tempests threatening elsewhere, 
prudently and happily she applied to that phoenix of 
princes of his time, the very puissant elector Frederick 
III., count palatine of the Rhine, as to one who being 
the paragon of piety and virtue received willingly 
all deserving applicants. 

The Elector was, indeed, a wonderful benefactor 
to all and especially to the persecuted Huguenots. 
At this time a chapel at Heidelberg was devoted 
to Protestant services, in French and the great 
castle itself gave harbourage to a moving train 
of fugitives pausing for shelter, en route to perma- 
nent homes in foreign lands. Early in March, 
1572, Charlotte reached Heidelberg where she was 
cordially welcomed by the Electress, once widow of 
Henry de Brederode, and the Elector, who hastened 
to inform the French King, the Queen-mother, and 
the Duke of Montpensier of his guest's arrival 
and of the reasons for her flight. His letter to 
the latter is a model of exquisite courtesy. 

I do not doubt that their royal dignities will be 
pleased and satisfied, as I am persuaded that you too, 
knowing that it is only the force of conscience — 
chiefly in regard to religion, that influenced her, will not 
disapprove the departure of my cousin, your daughter, 
but will take it all in good part as debonair father, 
showing your accustomed prudence and kindness — 
and will permit her liberty of conscience to serve God, 
obey you, and enjoy her property, etc., etc. 

From Heidelberg, March 15, 1572. 



I575i New Alliances 307 

The Elector's real hopes of placating the father 
may have been much less than his conciliatory 
words implied. The Duke lost no time in ex- 
pressing his sentiments roundly. His reply bears 
the date of March 28th and is the letter of an 
infuriated man who does not gloze his anger that 
his own daughter, Charlotte, had spread abroad 
complaints that ought to have come to his ears 
first. 

If she had only told me herself of her distaste for 
the convent, I would have looked about for honest 
means to take her out and to place her with the least 
scandal in a position she preferred. But who could 
have dreamed that she disliked her office after she had 
lived in her abbey thirteen or fourteen years, invested 
with the quality and title of abbess, giving the habit 
to and receiving the vows from many in my presence 
and out of it, fulfilling all the duties of her charge? 

I cannot agree with you that she was moved to this 
step by zeal for God's service. It was rather the 
intrigues of others that tempted her to a liberty void 
of sanctity, and tainted by the world and the flesh, 
as is shown by the fact that her sole escort consisted 
of two or three coquins, vicious and bad people, noto- 
rious for their scandalous lives. 

I have never heard that God's glory was advanced 
by violating an oath and vows offered to him volun- 
tarily and frankly, nor that kings, queens, princes, 
and princesses of this crown acquired the name of 
Most Christian by any such extraordinary and dam- 
nable methods. She is the first of her race to desert 
the holy faith of her ancestors, the first who was 



308 William the Silent [1574- 

willing to wear a religious garb for eighteen or 
more years, live under vows, enjoying the title and 
emoluments of an abbess for thirteen or fourteen 
years, and then, all of a sudden, without confiding 
in father, brother, sister, or kinsfolk, to abandon 
everything, king and fatherland, to flee to Germany. 
To remove any idea she may have given you that 
she was forced into her profession I assure you that 
neither I nor my late wife was . present when she 
took her vows, we being more than eighty leagues 
distant. No one represented me except M. Ruze, at 
present Bishop of Angers and then my son's tutor. 
. . . The alleged compulsion is nothing but a 
masque to cover her duplicity. 

The Duke then dilates on the liberality to all 
opinion prevailing within the realm of France, 
on Charlotte's ingratitude, and last but not least 
on the impossibility of her receiving any property 
that she had once renounced in favour of her 
brother, etc. He ends his letter with the words: 

Being sure that Frederick will not wrong me by 
harbouring her and that you will act like a relation 
and friend, I finish this large and tiresome epistle. 
Your humble and obedient cousin, 

Louis de Bourbon. 

At Aigue perse the 28th day of March, 1572. 1 

Frederick's letter was not the earliest announce- 
ment of Charlotte's flight received by the Duke, 
though it gave the first information of her exact 

1 Delaborde, p. 320. 



1575] New Alliances 309 

whereabouts. Louis de Bourbon was already hot 
when it arrived from the tidings that the abbess 
of Jouarre had disappeared, brought to him at 
Auvergne, by his daughter Louise, the abbess 
of Farmoutiers; the irate father declared that his 
recreant child should be returned dead or alive. 1 
He filled the court with his complaints. After 
the interchange of letters with the Elector, the 
Duke sent a commission to Jouarre to make a 
formal investigation of the reason "why the lady 
had discarded her habit worn for thirteen or 
fourteen years without a murmur, and an inquiry 
into who had suborned her to such action.' ' 
The commission comprised: 

Nicolas de Gaulnes, lieut.-gen. of M. le bailly de 
Juere, Pierre Desmolins, registrar of the bailiwick, 
and M. Pierre Andre sieur de la Garde, advo- 
cate in the court of the parlement de Paris, and 
superintendent of the affairs of Monseigneur the 
Duke of Montpensier. Joined thereto was the pro- 
cureur of the said nuns and convent. 2 

The substance of the testimony given under 
oath is that the nuns had had no idea that their 
abbess was not coming back when she departed 
ostensibly for Paraclet. There are six depositions, 
all very naive and simple, each differing a little 

1 Letter to the abbess of Farmoutiers, Delaborde, p. 36; Bibl. 
Nat. MSS., f. fr., vol. 3182, folio 5. 

2 Delaborde, p. 37. The report is endorsed Par Commandement 
de MM. le premier president et Boissonnet, conseiller ceste in- 
formation faicte par les officiers de Jouerre. 



310 William the Silent [1574- 

from the others. 1 All agree that the d'Averly 
brothers and others of the "pretended reformed 
religion" probably influenced Charlotte, as they 
had haunted the abbey, and that no one had the 
least suspicion of her purpose until the return 
of the soldiers. 2 All agree too that Charlotte 
had assumed the veil very reluctantly at her 
mother's command and at an uncanonical age. 
Radegonde Sarrot mentioned the serious illness 
of Louise de Long-vie as the immediate reason 
for forcing the child to take her vows. Marie 
Brette names Jeanne Mousson and Jehanne Var- 
rettz as the sisters who might have been in the 
lady's confidence and who certainly shared her 
flight'. The two forms of the articles to which 
the novice subscribed are mentioned as being 
a fraudulent device to blind her. All throw the 
blame of coercion on the mother rather than the 
father, — Marie Beauclerc stating that the Duchess 
even threatened to send her disobedient daughter 
to Fontevrault if she persisted in her refusal. 
Catherine de Perthuis does indeed suggest a recent 
breach between the father and daughter in her 
statement that when the Duke of Montpensier 
came to Jouarre and "forced the baptism of several 

1 The signatures of the nuns vary in form: Richement, C. de 
Perthuis, Marie Brette, R. Sarrot, Marie Beaucler, Marie Soeur 
de Mery. The ages of the deponents vary from 40 to 80. All 
had entered Jouarre at 12 or 13. 

1 The soldiers were Jehan Petit, Jehan Parent, Loys Lambinot, 
Gilles Leroy, and Jacques de Couches. "One named Roubichion 
had remained with my lady" besides the d'Averly brothers.. 



1575] New Alliances 311 

Huguenot children, my lady declared that since 
her father had played her that trick she would 
play him another and prove that she had no 
vocation for the convent but had been forced 
into her profession." There is a curious simplicity 
about it all, as though it were quite natural that 
the abbess should have received the Seignior de 
Minay, Francois d'Averly and his brother on 
terms of intimacy and that her own reluctance 
cast a shadow of illegality over her vows. Again 
there was doubt as to whether the abbess of 
Paraclet who had administered the oath to the 
young novice was ordained and thus legally 
equipped for the act of consecration. Thus it 
seems that four items were alleged why Charlotte 
de Bourbon was not bound to the profession: 
Immaturity at the time of making the vows, 
ineligibility of the abbess who received them, 
fraud in the presentation of the articles of faith, 
and undue constraint. 

In reply to the first of these charges it might 
have been urged that all the testifying witnesses 
had apparently taken the veil at about the same 
age — twelve or thirteen, — so that childish vows 
were not unheard of. Moreover, it often seemed 
to be the case that the heads of both convents and 
monasteries were in somewhat ambiguous position 
between the world and the cloister, and assuredly 
in the sixteenth century young people were ex- 
pected to accept their parents' plans for their es- 
tablishment in life. The position at stake, that of 



312 William the Silent [1574- 

abbess of Jouarre, was certainly a highly honourable 
one besides being richly endowed. Two charges 
seemed serious, first that a pretended (simule) 
profession had been shown to the candidate 
instead of the real articles ordinarily sworn to 
by the nuns. The substitution implied deliberate 
fraud. Secondly, there was the ineligibility of 
the abbess of Paraclet to receive such vows. 

But if Charlotte were Protestant and discarding 
the rules of the ancient Church, what difference 
did these points make? 

President de Thou and the Sieur d'Aumont, 
commanded by the Duke to go to Heidelberg 
to bring Charlotte back to France, were told 
politely but firmly by Frederick III. that his guest 
should not leave his castle without assurance of 
permission to exercise her chosen religion freely. 1 
Her father preferred to leave her where she was 
rather than to give any such promises. It made 
little difference. St. Bartholomew's Day in that 
summer of 1572 proved the quality of any pledges 
from the court of Charles IX. One who had 
trusted her own son to the King and his mother 
wrote two more sympathetic letters to Charlotte: 

My cousin: Having heard what happened in 
Germany I wrote to M. the Count Palatine and to 
M. the Duke Casimir, his son, to announce the good 
news of the convention of the marriage of Madame 
and my son. I thanked them by the same means 

1 Aub6ry du Maurier, Memoires, p. 97. 



1575] New Alliances 313 

for the kind reception they have given you. More- 
over, I believe this alliance will help you for I shall 
have better credit, from which you shall profit 
as from the best of your relations. I have begun 
to talk of your affairs but M. de Montpensier is 
still very bitter. I will not fail to intercede for 
you and to use every means which God has given 
me. In the midst of my rejoicing over the marriage 
of my son God has afflicted me with the illness of my 
daughter, a second pleurisy which has returned four 
days in succession. She has been bled. I hope 
in God that the issue will be happy. She is in His 
hands. I implore Him to give her what He deems 
needful for her, and you, my cousin, what you desire 
Your good cousin and perfect friend, 

Jehanne. 1 
From Blois this 5th day of April, 1572. 

My cousin: I think you must have now received 
my letter and M. the Count, my thanks for his kind- 
ness to you. My son will add to this when he comes. 
As to your affairs, I, have shown the queen-mother 
the count's letter and told her what I thought would 
help you but I have not had the answer I hoped for. 
You have many sympathisers but few dare say 
anything on account of the bitterness felt by M. de 
Montpensier towards all of this court. 

However, nothing will make me hold my tongue. 
I will work with all my heart and leave nothing 
untried that occurs to me and you shall be informed 
when I have a chance. Both my children have been 
seriously ill. God has preserved them for His glory. 

My cousin, make use of my friendship, my resources, 

1 British Museum, MSS. Harl. 1582, f. 367. 



314 William the Silent £1574- 

and my property, and thereupon I pray God my 
cousin to give you His holy grace and assistance in 
all this weighty matter. 

Your good cousin and perfect friend, 

Jehanne. 

From Venddme this 5th of May, 1572. 

Jeanne was at Vendome for the obsequies of 
a Huguenot leader. "La da Vendoma 1 set out 
for Vendome. Count Louis the Admiral and all 
his troop are there for the funeral of the Prince 
of Conde and to lay him in the church among 
others of his blood." 

A month later and the death of the Queen of 
Navarre brought bitter disappointment to Char- 
lotte. The "perfect friend" was not to adopt 
Charlotte, the late abbess, as her daughter. Then 
came the terrible massacre of St. Bartholomew 
which annihilated all the hoped for improvement 
in the condition of French Protestants as a result 
of the alliance between Henry of Navarre and 
Margaret of Valois. The temporary hospitality 
offered by the Elector to the escaped abbess had 
to be extended for it was evident that there was 
no safety for her in France. The guest was 
treated with affectionate consideration and the 
slightest disrespect to her was resented. Michel 
de la Huguerye says that the Elector would 
never have invited the Duke of Anjou to visit 

1 Such was the appellation given to the Queen of Navarre 
by the Spaniards. Pedro de Aguila to the Duke of Alva, Blois, 
May 5, 1572. Charlotte de Bourbon, p. 49. 



15751 New Alliances 315 

Heidelberg en route for his new kingdom of 
Poland had he dreamed that he would be so rude 
to Charlotte. 

During her sojourn at this hospitable castle there 
were frequent suggestions of an eligible parti 
for her, among which was one of the Rhine 
bishops whom it was proposed to convert. The 
name of Louis of Nassau too was, occasionally, 
coupled with hers, sometimes honourably, some- 
times with a disagreeable sneer as though it had 
been he who tempted the abbess to discard her 
chosen calling. Letters and memoirs of the time 
were as full of gossip as the modern press, and the 
moral character of no one was safe in the hands 
of a political or theological enemy. Charlotte's 
character stood the calumny, however. 

No negotiations for Charlotte's establishment 
went very far until the Prince of Orange made a 
definite offer of marriage in the winter of 1575. 
What led him to charge Philip Marnix to be his 
" courtly messenger " during his convenient stay at 
Heidelberg where the learned man was selecting 
professors from the Heidelberg faculty to fill chairs 
at the new University of Leiden? Had the Prince 
ever seen the lady? It is more than possible. 
During 1568-72 Orange was often in France. 
Charlotte might have met him when visiting 
the Queen of Navarre, for abbesses were not 
chained to their convents and Charlotte's high 
birth undoubtedly gave her freedom of move- 
ment in spite of her nun's habit. Then in 



316 William the Silent H574- 

the summer of 1572 Dillenburg was the exile's 
headquarters. Orange was constantly on the 
wing. It would only have been natural for him 
to break one of his many journeys at Heidelberg 
to discuss political events with the sympathetic 
Elector. After he was once within the Nether- 
lands in the autumn of that year the Prince never 
crossed the boundaries again. But, prior to 
that date, many opportunities for a meeting be- 
tween the future pair are well within the bounds 
of possibility. The memory of a pleasant, calm 
personality, trained for a career, disciplined by ad- 
versity, might have haunted the wanderer's mem- 
ory in agreeable contrast to the disagreeable, selfish 
stormy capriciousness of Anne of Saxony. It seems 
as though he must have been influenced by a per- 
sonal attraction to account for his selection of a 
woman whose past history and position showed so 
many arguments why an alliance with her at that 
moment was peculiarly hazardous for the ad- 
vancement of his political projects. 

The prudential arguments against the match 
were patent. Orange needed friends in Germany. 
A marriage in Anne's lifetime meant a public 
repudiation of her that would alienate Saxons 
and Hessians, still her kinsmen, even though they 
might recognise that the judicial decision of Count 
John as to Anne's guilt was just enough. Orange 
needed friends in France. But assuredly there 
was no prospect that this particular French bride 
would cement his friendship with her royal cousin 



15751 New Alliances 317 

whose authority she braved, both in rejecting her 
profession and in abandoning the solemn vows of 
celibacy which her father considered legal. In spite 
of Catherine von Bora's example the thought of 
a renegade nun entering into matrimony was not 
wholly agreeable even to Protestants, while it seem- 
ed a peculiarly heinous action to Catholics. It gave 
renewed ground for the grave charges against Char- 
lotte's integrity of purpose, charges that continued 
to flutter in the air long after her dignified and no- 
ble bearing as consort to the struggling revolution- 
ary leader had refuted the accusations completely. 
Her first letter is as follows : 

To Monsieur the Prince of Orange : 

I have received the letter you were pleased to 
write me and have heard your message from the 
gentleman who brought it. It is something that I 
can only answer by the advice and command of 
M. the Elector and of Mme. the Electress to whom 
I have confided all. For as I consider them in the 
place of father and mother and as I receive from 
their Excellencies paternal kindness, it is only 
reasonable that I should render them filial duty. 

As far as my own will goes, I can only express my 
esteem and honour for you with desire to serve you 
as far as God will give me the means which I am 
going to beseech Him to give you after my humble 
recommendations, etc. 

Your humble and ready to serve you 

Charlotte de Bourbon. 

At Heidelberg, Jan. 28, 1575. x 

1 In the family archives of the Due de la Tr6moille. De- 
laborde, p. 86. 



318 William the Silent ^™- 

The following report to Orange continues the 
story : 

Monseigneur and most illustrious Prince: 

The seignior has returned from France bringing the 
answer from the King and Queen-mother. . . . The 
King does not wish to mix himself up in this affair, 
as being against his religion. Nevertheless he 
thinks that Mile, is fortunate at meeting so good 
a partis and the Queen-mother is of the same opinion. 
In short, they will not take in ill part what Mile, does 
by the advice of the Count Palatine, and what seems to 
her advantage, provided it is not against the service 
of the King. Nevertheless, they advised announcing 
the matter to the Duke of Montpensier. It has, 
however, been decided in the presence of the Count 
Palatine, Chancellor Ehem, and myself, that there 
is no use in waiting for the consent of the Duke of 
Montpensier, because the same answer is to be 
expected from him as from the King, being of the 
same religion, and she, having attained her majority, 
is perfectly content to obey the Count Palatine in 
all that he advises. In this affair she considers 
him her father. As the Count Palatine approves, 
and declares that he would not advise her against 
so desirable a match with one of her own religion, 
Mademoiselle has roundly declared that she will 
obey him, and is willing to give her consent, and this 
is what the Count Palatine has commanded me to 
write to your Excellency. 

As to the other point, namely, the explanation to 
be made to the other party's relatives, that will be 
left by the Palatine to your Excellency, though he 
will do all that is suitable to appease the said rela- 



1575] New Alliances 319 

tives, and to guard the honour of your Excellency 
and of Mademoiselle. 

As to the dowry, the Count Palatine and Madem- 
oiselle have heard what your Excellency has re- 
solved about the house at Middelburg, and as 
Mademoiselle asks nothing better than to share 
with your Excellency what God may please to 
send to your joint lot, so she and the Count Pal- 
atine do not doubt that your Excellency will have 
consideration for her sex, and will make some 
disposition of the property which your Excel- 
lency has in France, either in Burgundy or Orange, 
if these estates be not pledged to your older 
children. 

If she may have something on which she can live 
suitably she will be content, but she would be 
unwilling to inconvenience either you or your brother, 
and lays absolutely no stress on the point, leaving 
everything to your discretion. Nothing remains 
but your Excellency's declaration, and for your 
Excellency to arrange what you wish Mademoiselle 
to do. For it seems superfluous to send again to 
the King, as the enclosed answer is sufficient. The 
Count Palatine waits from one day to another the 
answer of the King's brother, and of the King of 
Navarre, to whom the count has written to ask their 
consent to this marriage, and to soften the heart of 
the Duke of Montpensier, her father. 

Frankfort, March 31st. 1 

A little later in the spring, Count Hohenlohe 2 is 

1 Groen, v., 165. 

2 Wolfgang, Count Hohenlohe, married Madeleine of Nassau, 
and was brother-in-law to Orange. 



326 William the Silent [1574- 

sent by the Prince to Germany with messages to 
Count John, to the Elector Palatine, and to "Mile, 
de Bourbon.' ' 

The memoranda of instructions contained the 
Prince's directions: 

Hohenlohe will show my brother the correspon- 
dence with Zuleger, and declare my intention of pro- 
ceeding in the matter, provided only that Mile, de 
Bourbon gives her consent. 

After discussing with my brother the best route 
for her to take, — by Emden, or straight down the 
river, which I prefer, as she would thus avoid expense, 
delay, and other inconveniences, — advise with my 
brother what means are available for the journey. 
This done, my brother [Count Hohenlohe] will take 
his way towards Heidelberg, where, having given 
my letters to the elector and his wife, and presented 
my humble salutations, he will proceed to declare 
his charge. 

M. Zuleger advised me, by his of March 31st, of 
the declaration of the consent given by Mademoiselle 
in presence of his Excellency, and I now beg him 
to arrange the necessary details for the fulfilment 
of this promise. M. de Ste. Aldegonde will have 
explained my situation, and now my brother will 
give more ample declaration, so that his Excellency 
will be fully informed and know what advice to give. 
He will let him understand that my intention is 
to march roundly, without attempting to deceive her, 
or to give ground for reproach. He will explain 
what is the condition of affairs with my former wife, 
and will add the opinion expressed by her relatives, 






1575] New Alliances 321 

so that he can see that no hindrance, or even delay, 
is to be feared from that quarter. 

Secondly, he will point out that nearly all my 
property must fall to my older children, so that I 
am not now able to assign to Mademoiselle any dower, 
but I mean to do the best I can in that respect, 
according to the means it may please God to give 
me in the future. The house I have bought at 
Middelburg, and the one I am building at Ger- 
truidenberg, are nothing to boast of, but if she will 
accept them as a beginning, and as a testimony 
of my good will, there will be no difficulty. She 
must bear in mind, moreover, that we are in the 
midst of a war whose issue is uncertain, and that I 
am deep in debt for this cause, to princes and other 
gentlemen, captains, and men-at-arms. She must 
remember, too, that I am beginning to grow old, 
being forty-two years of age. Having stated these 
items, my brother will pray his Excellency and 
Madame, on my part, considering their friendship, 
etc., for me and her, to decide whether they approve. 
If, after all is well weighed, Mile, agrees to proceed 
in the matter, he [Hohenlohe] will give a promise 
on my part, and receive one from her, and then 
consult about the best arrangements for the journey 
to complete what is begun to the glory of the Lord. 

William of Nassau. 

At Dordrecht, April 24, 1575. 1 

When the Count realised that his brother was 
on the very eve of matrimony, he was deeply 

1 Groen, v., 189. 



322 William the Silent [1574- 

concerned and his dismay was shared by all the 
family at Dillenburg. John had been ill and was 
still so weak that writing was a weariness to 
him, but he hastened to send off a letter to Ste. 
Aldegonde, in the hopes of delaying the fatal step : 

Dear Aldegonde [no ceremony this time]: If you 
have any love for the Prince and for the welfare of the 
elector, and if you do not want to run into danger 
yourself, do let this thing be delayed for a time; at 
least, until we can be sure of the foundation of the 
other friendship, so that we can see our way clear 
to act conscientiously and honourably, and until we 
know how matters are to be settled with the Princess ; 
especially and most important of all, just wait until 
the coming meeting of the electoral college and Reich- 
stag — appointed for about July 29th at Frankfort — 
shall be over. ... If you have already started, 
which I hope is not the case, let her wait at Emden 
or Bremen, for a time, as though she were going to 
England. . . . 

It is a shame to put all friendship in jeopardy. 
There is an old and true proverb, prcecipitis consilii 
pcenitentia comes. The matter is surely worthy of 
consideration. But of what use is endless writing? 
Any one can get advice for what he wants to do. 
If there is no hope, I and other good hearts must 
look on sadly and let it go as it will, because it can- 
not be otherwise, but I cannot help telling you, that 
if this matter be pushed on so roughly you will not be 
safe in Germany. 

John, Count of Nassau, etc. 

Dillenburg, May 20th. 



1575] New Alliances 323 

I enclose Hesse's opinion so that you can see that 
the matter will not be allowed to drop : as the tree 
does not fall at one blow, I would be hopeful if the 
affair were conducted with prudence and modesty 
and not rushed through so thoughtlessly. 1 

This particular enclosure is not preserved, but 
Hesse's opinion on the matter is well known. 
He had written to Dr. Schwartz that he simply 
could not believe that the Prince was in earnest. 
No divorce had been granted that would permit 
remarriage and if Orange persisted in this course, 
Anne's position would be altered and the judges 
would declare that there was mutual delinquency 
and grant compensation accordingly. 2 

The Prince's formal announcement to John 
of his coming marriage is dated May 21st. He 
treats his purpose simply as a foregone conclusion 
and requests that all the papers relating to Anne's 
case should be given to the Elector Palatine. 
If the documents were not forthcoming, the scandal 
to the House of Saxony would be greater. 

I should find it only good, if you made the culprit 
[Rubens] again confess his misdeed before some gentle- 
men and people of quality, so that you and I should 
be more at our ease, and be sure of him for our greater 
security if any one should hereafter malign us, and 
accuse us of illegal imprisonment. . . . For other 
news, the peace conference is not yet at an end, etc. 3 

1 Groen, v., 201. 

2 Ad mutuant parium delictorum compensationem. 

3 Groen, v., 205. 



324 William the Silent [1574- 

It is a singularly quiet, unmoved letter, as 
though the contemplated step was the most natural 
one possible. 

John, however, could not take the matter 
lightly. He wrote to the Landgrave that it was 
not his fault, and William of Hesse replied that 
he could well believe that such a marriage did 
not meet with the Count's approval, or with that 
of any person in his right senses. He continues 
in Latin, that the Prince must be distracted by 
his troubles, even to dream of such a mad, insensate 
action. When John receives his brother's letter 
of May 2 1st, he writes, on June 3d, a long, careful, 
affectionate, brotherly, though very respectful 
letter, begging Orange not to complete this alliance. 
He ventures to use the word "geliebte" in the 
midst of his letter, having begun "Honoured 
Prince," and says modestly: " Although it does 
not become me to prescribe measures to your 
Highness, I must confess that the unseemly haste 
in this important matter shocks me, and certainly 
cannot further your public affairs. " It was not 
a time when Orange ought to follow his private 
inclinations. The " other party's" relatives will 
be furious; her dowry will be demanded, which 
will be very inconvenient to pay back, as it 
amounts to 12,500 thalers a year. A notorious 
fact does not always admit of documentary 
evidence, etc. 

Then the matter was discussed by Calvinistic 
ministers in France and the Netherlands. MM. 



1575] New Alliances 325 

Feugheran and Capet of France gave their 
opinion in writing, that the new marriage was 
legitimate — their chief argument being that Anne's 
conduct released her husband from all obligations 
towards her. Finally, on June nth, a formal 
act, by which the marriage of the Prince of 
Orange was declared legal, was drawn up at 
Brill by five of the most eminent ministers in 
the Netherlands. They were Gaspar van der 
Heiden, John Tafrm, Jacob Michael, Thomas 
Tylius, and Jan Miggrodus. After reviewing all 
the circumstances, the document concludes 
with these words: "whereby it follows, that 
Monseigneur the Prince is free according to 
human and divine law to marry, and that she 
whom he espouses will be, before God and man, 
his lawful wife." l 

This Orange accepted as the legal justification 
of his freedom to marry. Yet he had hardly 
awaited the decision before committing himself 
to make the alliance. When this dictum was 
pronounced, Charlotte had already entered the 
Brill under the escort of Ste. Aldegonde, who had 
not "let the grass grow under his feet." He was 
not disposed to criticise his chief. Orange wanted 
to be married. Aldegonde had been asked to 
fetch him his bride and he fetched her as fast as 
roads and weather would permit. 

The bride was formally received by the deputies 
of Dordrecht, Alkmaar, Flushing, and Brill and 

x Groen, v., p. 223. 



326 William the Silent [i 5 re- 

presented with a gift of six thousand pounds. On 
June 12th the wedding ceremony was performed 
and the pair proceeded to Dordrecht, where they 
were received with every token of joy, but "no 
dancing." J 

The Landgrave's emphatic expressions on the 
subject of this alliance may be taken as voicing 
the widespread disapproval. 

I cannot understand what the Prince is thinking 
of, let alone that wiseacre, Aldegonde, or. whoever 
else has helped in the matter. Nam si pietatem 
respicias. If you consider piety, you must remember 
that she is French, and a nun, a runaway nun at that, 
about whom all kinds of stories are told of the way 
she kept her cloister vows, before the Prince wanted 
to put himself out of the mud into the sea. 

Si formarn. If it is beauty he is after, you can 
hardly believe he was charmed by that, since, un- 
doubtedly, no one can look at the bride without 
being rather frightened than pleased. 

Si spent prolis. The prince has, indeed, already 
too many children for his circumstances, and ought 
rather to wish, if he were in his senses, that he had 
neither wife nor child. 

Si amicitiam. If it is friendship, we do not be- 
lieve he will get it. Her own father is so incensed 
against her, that the Prince cannot expect much 
gratitude from him and her relatives. 

So we cannot imagine what has led him into this 
business, which will estrange many of his friends 

1 Komst van Charlotte van Bourbon te Dordrecht. Poem in 
Schotel's Dordrecht, p. 50. 



1575] New Alliances 2> 2 7 

whose friendship had not stood him in ill-stead. Then 
everything is in a muddle, and it looks to us as if Hol- 
land and Zealand, in seeking protection, were going to 
bring themselves into subjection. They had better 
look to it that it does not go as it did with the Ad- 
miral at his Paris wedding, for the gentlemen do not 
pardon such injuries without mercury and sublimated 



However, the marriage was not stayed and soon 
was an accomplished fact. The Nassau family 
had to swallow their dismay, and make the best 
of it. On June 24th, Charlotte wrote a pleasant, 
respectful note to Juliana, her new mother-in-law, 
evidently hoping that she is to be well received 
in the family. On July 7th, Orange despatches 
a very long, characteristic letter to John in answer 
to his remonstrance upon his marriage. First 
he regrets that the documents asked for were not 
sent to him. Then he expresses his sorrow that 
John had taken his alliance so keenly to heart 
and refers to his objection to the celebration before 
the meeting of the Diet at Frankfort. 

To which I reply, my brother, that my method 
has always been . . . not to trouble myself about 
objections to anything I could conscientiously do 
without wrong to my neighbours. If I had heeded 
the remonstrances of princes and others, would I 
ever have embarked on the enterprise I have under- 
taken? As soon as I was convinced that neither 
prayers nor exhortations would have any effect, 

1 Groen, v., p. 226. 



328 William the Silent [1574 

I saw that active resistance was the sole course 
open. 

It is the same thing now with my marriage. It is 
something I do with a clear conscience before God 
and without just cause for reproach from men. 
Indeed I consider that I am bound to this procedure 
by God's holy ordinance and that there is really 
no need to answer men, because the matter is so 
clear. [He expatiates on the uselessness of further 
delay.] There is nothing that checks evil sus- 
picions so quickly or that is in such good taste as a 
quiet and rapid mode of procedure, as though one's 
self were the most competent judge of one's own 
behaviour, rather than to blazon matters abroad 
with the sound of the trumpet and then to invite 
criticism from those who must necessarily be only 
partially informed as to details. 

In regard to the difficulties you raise, of dowry 
and of provision for children who may be born to 
me, pray consider that no delay till the next Diet, 
or the next century, so to say, would have solved 
them. ... I have made a frank statement about 
my duties to my older children ... and there was 
no further reason for my being longer in the state of 
widowerhood to which I have been condemned for 
so long. ... I firmly believe that I have taken 
the right course, not only for myself, but for the 
public weal. x 

The letter is dignified and yet brotherly. There 
is a ring of truth in every word and between the 
lines which shows the writer on a far higher moral 

1 Groen, v., p. 244. 



1575] New Alliances 329 

plane than ever before. The skilful "diplomacy " 
of the Prince's earlier years, the ability to give 
two completely different views of the same action, 
do not appear in this episode. Honesty of pur- 
pose and honesty of expression have at last 
united, and the man lets his own conviction stand 
out clearly; as regards his personal conduct his 
own standard was attained even though he was 
running counter to accepted standards. 

The apprehensions entertained by the Prince's 
friends that the event would excite criticism 
proved fully justified. Orange begged the Elector 
of Saxony to take his marriage in good part. 
But no words were powerful enough to work 
that end; and the terms in which Augustus ex- 
pressed his disapproval were vigorous rather than 
polite. Nor was the Elector alone in his opinions. 
The Prince's agent in France, Gaspar Schom- 
berg, wrote that the disapproval there was very 
strong, and when the Diet met at Ratisbon in 
October, comments were freely expressed on the 
matter. The Elector Palatine bent to the wind 
and finally asserted that the match was none 
of his doing. 

In Charlotte's family it is rather strange that 
the orthodox Louise de Bourbon, abbess of 
Farmoutiers, the first to inform the Duke of her 
sister's flight, showed herself very gracious to the 
unexpected brother-in-law. Possibly the fact that 
the vacated dignities of Jouarre were presented to 
her made her more lenient to Charlotte's resig- 



330 William the Silent [1574- 

nation as abbess. x Two months after the wedding 
she writes to the Prince of Orange : 

Monsieur: I cannot tell you how much I appre- 
ciate the esteemed favour you have been pleased 
to show me by your letter, recognising me for what 
I have the honour to be to you now. Pray believe 
that, for my part, I prize as I should, the honour that 
is done our house by my sister's marriage with 
you. I count her very happy to be sought by a 
prince as virtuous and sage as your reputation makes 
you. Do me the honour to believe that I should 
consider myself very pleased to receive your com- 
mands so that you might judge by the execution 
thereof how I desire a place in your good graces. 
Beseeching God to give you, Monsieur, etc. 

Your very humble and obedient sister to do you 
service, 

Loyse de Bourbon. 

At Jouarre, Aug. 21, 1575. 3 

Francois de Bourbon, too, did not repulse the 
advances of his sister and her husband. The 
exchange of letters that began in the early summer 
of 1575 continued throughout Charlotte's life. 
Orange implores this brother-in-law to use his 
"singular courtesy and honesty" in persuading 
the Duke "to take back my wife into his good 

1 A third sister, Anne de Bourbon, Duchess of Nevers, died in 
this same year. Although "of the religion," the Duke of Mont- 
pensier insisted that her obsequies should be celebrated with 
Catholic rites. Delaborde, p. 107. 

2 Groen, supplement, p. 174.* 



1575] New Alliances 331 

graces, recognising her as one who has the honour 
to be his daughter. " 

Still in spite of the friendliness of these French 
kinsfolk, it was only very gradually that the cloud 
of criticism hanging over the new marriage was 
dissipated. Perhaps no one suffered more from 
its presence than Count John of Nassau — loyal 
to his brother but critical of his course. Indeed 
it often happens that an interested person at a 
distance from the scene of action feels a blow 
for a longer period than the active participants, 
speedily absorbed in fresh events. 

Before his marriage, Orange had told his brother 
to make out a statement of the indebtedness of the 
insurgent provinces to him. Count John has done 
this and begins to feel that settlement is in order if 
the Prince feels justified in assuming new burdens 
of private expenditure. This again is a natural 
sentiment. Money is still scarce, however, and 
the answer to John's legitimate request made by 
Orange is (July 21st) that, as yet, any payment 
is a simple impossibility. In the face of this 
rebuff and in spite of his grieved disapproval of 
the Prince, John does not drop his affectionate 
tone when he touches on his own household cares. 

My children and yours [he writes, October 13th] 
are, thank God, pretty well, in spite of the disease 
ravaging this neighbourhood, where more than a 
hundred deaths of the plague have occurred in some 
villages. Within three months four persons have 



332 



William the Silent 



[1574-1575] 



died in my household of this disease, though we did 
not know about it until afterwards. 

The young people are all at Siegen. My mother, 
your Excellency's daughter, my wife and sister, 
insist however on staying here with me, as I cannot 
get away. x 



This "daughter" was Marie, whose devotion to 
her Uncle John makes one of the prettiest pic- 
tures of the Nassau gallery. The Count feels it his 
duty to point out to her father that something 
should be done towards finding her a husband. 
Orange replies that he would be glad to see her 
settled but he cannot do much by way of a dot. 

Then there are problems of education. John's 
sons are destined for Heidelberg University soon. 
"It is the best school in Germany." What shall 
be done with Maurice? The plague increases. 
By December 4th two hundred more deaths have 
occurred, including several of the little court. The 
family have escaped, though Countess Juliana 
and John's wife were ill for a few days. 

1 MS. Orange-Nassau family archives, The Hague. 




ORANGE MEDAL 



CHAPTER XV 

THE PACIFICATION OF GHENT 
1577 

AFTER the rupture of the peace negotiations 
at Breda, the disappointed Grand Com- 
mander turned his attention to vigorous offensive 
operations. An exploit in Zealand that brought 
some renown to the close of his rather colourless 
career was a curious contrast to the relief of 
Leiden by floating a fleet overland to the city- 
walls, for his men succeeded in marching to an 
island ! 

In Zealand, the Spaniards held the island of 
Tholen alone and that had been won by Mon- 
dragon's men wading at low tide to its shores. 
Requesens ordered a repetition of this experiment 
and it succeeded though the conditions were more 
dangerous. The Netherland garrison in Duiveland 
was as much surprised by 1 500 Spaniards suddenly 
rising out of the sea as Valdez's troops had been 
by the entry of the sea into their tents before 
Leiden. Between the ebb and flow, in the night 
of September 27th, the Spaniards had made the 
six miles from Tholen to Duiveland with great 

333 



334 William the Silent [1577] 

difficulty and some loss as they ploughed their way 
-more than knee-deep in salt water across the flats 
with flashes of lightning their only illumination. 
In the confusion which ensued among the at- 
tacked at this unexpected invasion, the Nether- 
landers lost their heads and were easily overcome. 
The Admiral's brother was slain by his own men 
in the darkness and surrender of the fort was 
unavoidable. 

The Spanish secured their prize and then braved 
the rising tide and waded on across the second 
and narrower strait to Schouwen, where they 
quickly reduced Brouwershaven on the North 
Sea and invested Bommenede and Zierikzee. 
Both towns resisted bravely, the former until 
October 26th, while the latter held out until June, 
1576. Its final capitulation proved one factor 
in the progress of events that had already been 
set in motion by a series of occurrences that had 
preceded it, the most important of which was the 
sudden death of the Grand Commander after a 
five days' illness (March 4, 1576). Anticipating 
his death, Requesens attempted to appoint a 
temporary successor; but his unsigned memo- 
randum was entirely disregarded and the Council 
of State at Brussels assumed the sole executive 
authority, pending the arrival of Philip's orders 
from Spain. That distant ruler did not, however, 
act with the promptitude demanded by the oc- 
casion, while the Prince of Orange did. At 
the latter's instance, a joint assembly of the 



[1577] The Pacification of Ghent 335 

Estates of Holland and Zealand had been con- 
vened in March. The result of their delibera- 
tions was the adoption of a new Act of Union 
between the two bodies politic, which replaced 
the earlier, inefficient alliance. z 

By its articles Orange was clothed with sovereign 
powers over the united lands during the continu- 
ance of the war. Moreover, he succeeded in mak- 
ing good his theory of extending the zone of 
responsibility — a theory which was a deep-seated 
principle. "His Excellency deems it advisable 
that all regulations, civil and military, should be 
ratified . . . also by the communities ... so 
that the people should have no ground for com- 
plaint that ordinances were made without their 
knowledge." 2 

Another motion was definitely broached in this 
Delft assembly, assuredly of a revolutionary 
character, — the idea of inviting some foreign 
prince to assume a protectorate. The Prince's 
phrase, used to Requesens, that the provinces 
were a fair maid who did not lack wooers, implies 
an openness in these proceedings. William of 
Hesse evidently has this plan in mind when he 
interjects into his letter about the Prince's 
marriage, his warning that Holland and Zealand 
may find themselves in subjection while seeking 

1 Hierges was stadtholder (Royal) for Utrecht and Guelderland 
and temporarily for Holland and Zealand at this time, 1575, but 
he was powerless to prevent these measures. 

2 Muller, De Staat, etc., p. 121, Res. of Hoi., 1575-76. 



336 William the Silent [1577] 

protection. 1 Thus it was certainly no secret 
even at the early stages, and from the first it was 
the Prince's wish. The absolute need of a foreign 
potentate at the head of a kind of home rule, con- 
stitutional, federal government was an idee fixe 
with him to the end of his life and one that 
brought strange contradictions into his policy, 
or rather turned his policy into politics. Surely 
it would have been the part of greater wisdom 
had Orange been more audacious, more ambitious, 
and assumed in his own name an elective mon- 
archical power which would have been free from 
the complications accompanying the "protection" 
sought here and there by the revolting provinces, 
who appealed now to England, now to France, 
deliberately blinding their eyes to the fact that 
neither the non-commercial Catholic, nor the 
commercial Protestant neighbour would do any- 
thing for the commercial petitioners, not even 
united in their heterodoxy, that might seriously 
jeopardise any of their own interests. 

There was long uncertainty as to what would 
be Philip's move after Requesens's death. 

f Marvellous it is [writes Morillon, May 28th] that 
so little news comes from Spain. It is rumoured 
that Don John will have the government, others 
in his Majesty's chamber declare that nothing is 
determined and that he is probably waiting for 
answers from those he has written to. There is talk 

1 Groen, v., p. 228. 



[1577] The Pacification of Ghent 337 

of Mme. de Parma and her son. God grant it may 
be some one who understands the country. 1 

In Madrid every eligible person was discussed 
in detail but the appointee proved to be one who 
neither understood nor cared for the " country, " 
except as a convenient stepping-stone in crossing 
the adjacent channel, for the King's choice did 
finally fall on his half-brother, Don John of Austria, 
as rumoured. 2 He was the son of one Barbara 
Blomberg and Charles V., provided for in his 
father's will and acknowledged by Philip, who 
had him educated, let him associate with Don 
Carlos, and conferred upon him highly responsible 
appointments at an early age. It was Don John's 
extraordinary good fortune to be in command 
of the allied fleet at Lepanto (1571) when the 
threatened advance of the Turks into western 
Europe was repulsed, and the admiration showered 
upon him for the marvellous achievement was 
sufficient to bewilder a wiser and an older head. 
Pope Gregory XIII. himself said: 

That young chief has proved himself a Scipio 
in valour, a Pompey in heroic grace, an Augustus 
in good fortune, a new Moses, a new Gideon, a new 
Samson, a new Saul, a new David, without any of 
the faults of these famous men, and I hope in God to 
live long enough to reward him with a royal crown. 3 

1 Cor. de Granvelle, vi., p. 88. 

2 Don John of Austria, Stirling-Maxwell, 2 vols. 

3 Stirling-Maxwell, i. f 429. 



338 William the Silent L15771 

Others too had suggested that his illegitimate 
birth need not be a bar to his royalty in any land 
but Spain. The appointment to the lieutenancy 
of the insurgent provinces was especially accept- 
able, because Don John regarded his new office 
as the opening to a more ambitious career. His 
brother bade him be very conciliatory to the 
Netherlanders and to make peace at any price 
short of licensing heresy. Even with the obstinate 
Protestants he was to use no more of the harsh 
methods of his predecessors. Every one who 
wished to stay at home must, naturally, return 
to the Church, but non-conformists were to have 
plenty of time to arrange their affairs before 
emigrating and to find Catholic friends to look 
after their property. With various gracious 
offers at his disposition Don John had no doubt 
of his speedy success. As soon as the assigned 
task was accomplished, he meant to take the 
troops, whose disbandment was clamoured for, 
and, with their aid, rescue the imprisoned Mary 
Stuart, whose royal hand would be, he dreamed, 
a suitable reward for his services. Eventually, 
might he not be prince- consort to the Queen of 
Great Britain? It was a pleasant picture that 
danced before his eyes as he rode, hot haste, to 
the north. As soon as his dilatory brother had 
decided on him as Requesens's successor, Don 
John set off on his journey across France, more 
like a fortune-seeking adventurer than a staid 
deputy -lieutenant of a monarch. Disguised as 



[1577] The Pacification of Ghent 339 

a Moor (so runs the story), accompanied by a 
small escort, he travelled hastily across France, 
pausing a single night in Paris, where, according 
to Brantome, he went to a court ball and looked 
on the royal family, without revealing his own 
identity. He was a handsome, spirited person, 
even if he fell somewhat short of the Pope's 
summary of his characteristics, and he was still 
a youth in spirit, in spite of his thirty years. 

When he crossed the frontier into Luxemburg 
and received the first direct report from his 
government, the news was startling indeed. 

At last, thank God [he writes, November 5th, to 
Don Rodrigo de Mendoza], I reached this place 
the 3d of this month and found the worst possible 
tidings of these provinces, for only this in which I 
am [Luxemburg] and Friesland . . . have withstood 
revolt. The rest are leagued together, calling out 
troops and foreign aid against the Spaniards, making 
and repealing laws in their own fashion, under the 
name of the King, whose name is also used while 
they are actually fitting up a house for Orange in 
Brussels and taking steps to admit him in the city. 1 

1 Stirling-Maxwell, ii. (Appendix), p. 357. 

Another letter of his, May 24th, is worth noting as showing 
the degree of persecution that still existed. "Two heretics 
belonging to the district of Namur are to be punished as examples. 
One, who refused to acknowledge himself as a heretic, was found 1 
to be in the possession of many bad books of Calvin and other 
heresiarchs. And the other, ready to repent, confessed his 
errors and that for nine years he had not been to confessional or 
received his Creator. Without the books of the one and the 
confession of the other, we should have been in difficulty. Certain 



340 William the Silent H577] 

To return to the early summer of 1576. The 
Council of State at Brussels administered affairs 
as well as they could until the capitulation of 
Zierikzee. "We do here what we can, but every- 
thing is slow, for [writes Morillon to Granvelle, 
from Brussels, May 21st] there are seven governors 
where there should be but one. Multitudo im- 
peratorii curiam perdidit." z 

The financial difficulties were a formidable bur- 
den to the feeble executive body in the capital. 
The deficit in the treasury was enormous and 
the arrears of pay owing to the soldiers amounted 
to a sum total which it was impossible to collect. 
The demands of the captains were put off with 
vague promises. Probably the men were soothed 
by intimations that they should have a fine share 
in the booty of Zierikzee, whose fall seemed certain. 
When that happened, however, the timid Council 
of State thought it would be politic to deal gently 
with the city. Excellent terms were granted to 
the burghers and the soldiers who had stood so 
patiently at the closed gates, expecting the delight 
of sacking when admitted, found themselves 
debarred from their precious privilege. There 
was a brief moment of sullen resentment at being 

citizens made capital out of the fact that the above had been 
questioned out of their house against the privileges and they 
stirred up other riffraff, whose mouths were stopped when they 
saw the books burned and the amende honorable, and I shall warn 
the magistrate to be more careful about admitting strangers in 
future." 

1 Cor. de Granvelle, vi., p. 81. 



H577] The Pacification of Ghent 341 

left without either wages or freedom to help 
themselves; then mutiny broke out in the ranks 
and the troops became a terror to friend and foe 
alike . After some wild raiding, the city of 
Alost was seized as headquarters for the muti- 
neers, — organised under a system of their own, 
— and the land was kept in a state of abject 
terror as to the next outbreak of their organised 
lawlessness. 

It was a period of almost superhuman exertion 
on the Prince's part. No stone was left unturned. 
Many of his efforts are known. z Doubtless there 
were others whose details have never been re- 
vealed. It was all the systematic procedure of a 
declared revolutionary leader, a procedure honey- 
combed with the faults inherent in such action. 
He was fully resolved to leave Philip out of the 
question henceforth and he used every weapon 
at hand to undermine royal authority and to ruin 
the nominal administration. It was the seventeen 
provinces that he wanted to see united. Holland 
and Zealand had been under his jurisdiction 
but neither had ever bounded his interests. His 
estates were in Brabant, his official life had been 
passed in Brussels. The confederation he dreamed 
of was to be as comprehensive as the Netherland 
circle of the empire erected in 1548, and at this mo- 
ment of 1576 there is little doubt that he thought 
the dream was to be realised. 

1 Groen, Archives, v., pp. 327-584; Gachard, Analectes Beiges, 
zt passim. 



342 William the Silent "577] 

In the act of union between Holland and Zealand 
Orange had exerted himself to keep any derogatory 
mention of the "Catholic" religion out of the 
articles, and had had introduced the ambiguous 
phrase that the exercise of all religion at variance 
with the gospel should cease and in so doing had 
been actuated not only by a desire to see tolerance 
within the little confederation, but to leave a 
loophole open for the hoped-for friendship with 
the great body of loyal Catholics in the other 
provinces. During the summer of 1576, numerous 
letters — not copies of one draft but each one 
written afresh — were showered not only on pro- 
vincial estates but on municipalities, officials, and 
private persons, urging corporations and indi- 
viduals alike to be slaves no longer. He reminded 
each one of his own grievances and pointed out 
the necessity of concerted efforts, pledging himself 
to act slowly and always in accordance with the 
wishes of the States. How much had Orange to 
do with the revolutionary occurrences that took 
place at Brussels? Undoubtedly it was his hand 
that pulled the wire when a certain Seignior 
de Heze suddenly came to the fore. He was a 
young man with the qualities of a demagogue, 
full of audacity and energy, and in command 
of some municipal troops. From the begin- 
ning of the mutiny he had inflamed popular 
indignation against everything Spanish. From 
August on, he was in close correspondence 
with Orange, who was probably fully informed 



[1577] The Pacification of Ghent 343 

of a bold coup d'etat which de Heze put into 
execution. x 

Suddenly appearing before the Council of 
State with five hundred men-at-arms, de Heze 
arrested the assembled councillors in the name 
of the Estates of Brabant and assumed the reins 
of government. 

Things went so far that the Brussels folk, deter- 
mined to be free, apprehended and imprisoned . . . 
Count Mansfeld, M. de Berlaymont, Viglius, Assonle- 
ville, and some others of the Council of State. 
Several cities seem ready to rise and it is to be hoped 
that God is going to take pity on these poor lands 
[wrote Orange to his brother on September 9th]. 2 

The actual detention of the councillors, — two 
in the Broodhuis, the others in their own resi- 
dences, was not of long duration, but their 
authority was effectually annihilated. Popular 
risings followed in other towns and at the same 
time the mutiny of the Spanish grew more serious. 
Fear of this unrestrained terrible force in their 
midst, combined with the Prince's well-directed 
efforts, finally had an effect. The Estates of 
Brabant assumed the initiative and invited a 
convention of deputies from the sister provinces. 
The resulting assembly called itself the States- 

1 The Spaniard Del Rio was eye-witness to these events and 
according to him all was in train for accommodation when the 
habitual artifices of the Prince of Orange overthrew everything. 
Memoir es, i., p. 69, etc. 

2 Groen, v., p. 409. 



344 William the Silent [1577] 

General, but as all the Estates were not represented, 
it was, perhaps, rather more like a self-appointed 
committee of national safety. While this con- 
clave was in session, Orange addressed the fol- 
lowing letter to its members — recapitulating in 
substance what he had said to each province 
separately. 1 

Understand your own position. Steer yourselves 
free from this dire confusion, which is the true foun- 
dation of tyranny and has been the source of ruin 
to republics from time immemorial. To do this, 
union among yourselves is important above all. 
If you will examine both the famous disasters of 
ancient history and the calamities of modern times, 
you will see that in France, Italy, and Germany, 
as well as in Hungary, Africa, and Barbary, where 
the Turks ravage at will, internal dissensions in 
a nation have been the root of all ill. My advice, 
subject to your correction, is, write to the King that 
you resolutely refuse to endure longer the incubus 
of his foreign troops, or to submit to the annihila- 
tion of all your rights. Express yourselves clearly, 
without ambiguous statements. Let no phrase 
creep in which could be to your future prejudice. 
Let this letter be signed by all the provincial Estates, 
and even by the chief monastic orders, and by all 
individuals of dignity in the land, or in credit with 
the King, or who ought to look to public weal. This 
action would act like a spur to your deliberations. 
Your position would be defined. You would no 

1 Gachard found this undated letter in Paris. It must have 
been written in October. — Cor., iii., p. 140. 



[1577] The Pacification of Ghent 345 

longer be swimming between two waters. You would 
then be in a position to act together and to feel mutual 
obligation to defend your action. Weighty deeds must 
bear the seal of their own importance. The ancients 
understood this. They used to inaugurate their so- 
cieties and brotherhoods with elaborate ceremonials, 
so that each individual felt the sanctity of the com- 
mon bond. . . . Defensive confederations are no new 
thing in this land. In the year 1261, Louvain, Brus- 
sels, and other Brabantine cities formed an alliance, 
and there were other similar leagues in 1339, 1368, 
1 37 1, 1372, and at many other times. // was by this 
persistent course of united effort among weak parties, 
each defenceless alone, that our vaunted privileges, rights, 
and customs have been so long maintained. 

The King thinks that the only malcontents here 
are a band of mutinous, so-called heretical Lutherans, 
while the country in general would be peaceable 
and content if there were not one or two leaders 
who stirred up revolt. In the year 1559, when there 
was question of the departure of the Spanish soldiers, 
the King himself said to me, "Si los estados no tuviessen 
pilares, no hablarian tan alto.' n Let him see that it 
is the general voice of the people which speaks, that 
the Estates are supported in their protest by great 
and small, by prelates, abbots, monks, and ecclesi- 
astics, as well as by lords, gentlemen, citizens, and 
peasants. In short, show him that there is no age, 
sex, condition, or quality of persons which does not 
participate in the clamour, which does not lend its 
voice to one will. Then, if he disregard your cry, 
all the world will declare him wrong, and support 
your right to oppose such iniquitous tyranny by 
every means in your power. 



346 William the Silent [1577] 

Finally, let him see that you are united to us, and 
that, moreover, you intend to throw yourselves into 
the arms of the ancient enemy of the House of 
Austria rather than to endure further insults. 

Then what can he do? Separate twigs can be 
snapped in two easily, but no one is strong enough 
to break a faggot. Even so, if you are firmly united, 
Spain and Italy together will not be sufficient to 
work you ill. See what Holland and Zealand have 
done in five years, and the burghers who have held 
aloof, as Amsterdam and Utrecht, have wrought us 
more injury than our foreign foe. What is our hand- 
ful of cities to all the Netherlands? . . . Everything 
is ready. A touchstone alone is needed, and such 
a touchstone would be a plain declaration of your 
rights duly signed. With the publication of such 
a declaration, friends would declare for you on every 
side. Now, the princes of Germany, the gentlemen of 
France, the Queen of England, and all other Christian 
potentates think you do not wish help, because you 
do not help yourselves. Act with decision, and the 
people will be a shield and buckler of their rights 
and will no longer ebb and flow like waves of the 
sea. Act, and there will be no one who will not haste 
to your assistance and be faithful to the last drop of 
blood. Do this, and you will be an example to all free 
peoples and to all unjust oppressors of republics. 

The Prince's arguments prevailed so far that 
delegates were appointed by the separate pro- 
vinces to meet persons deputed by himself and 
the allied provinces in revolt to confer on joint 
measures at Ghent, the city of his choice. 



[1577] The Pacification of Ghent 347 

There was a special reason for this selection, 
as Ghent had shown her temper by asking for a 
guard of the Prince's own troops to protect her 
from the mutineers. On October 19th, the de- 
liberations began, and on November 8th signa- 
tures were put to the Pacification of Ghent, a 
compact that bound the southern Netherlands 
into a defensive league with Holland and Zealand. 
Very possibly the twenty-five Articles of Con- 
federation would never have been signed had not 
the mutineers suddenly seized on Antwerp and 
treated the city with a savage brutality, known 
as the Spanish Fury. 

It is notorious that Antwerp was but yesterday 
one of the chief ornaments of Europe, the harbourage 
of all the nations of the world, the nurse of art and 
industry. . . . The protector of the Roman Catholic 
Religion, she was ever faithful and obedient to her 
sovereign prince. Now the city is changed to a 
gloomy cavern, filled with robbers and murderers, 
enemies to God, the King, and to loyal subjects. 1 

Such was the message sent by the Estates of 
Brabant to the Assembly at Ghent, after Novem- 
ber 4th, and the words doubtless contributed 
towards the conclusion reached some days later. 
Orange did not appear in person at Ghent, 
but he was adequately represented by Ste. Alde- 
gonde and Paul Buys. Morillon tells Granvelle 
(November 5th) how Ste. Aldegonde had the 

1 Bor, i., 733. 



348 William the Silent [1577] 

sympathy of the meeting so completely that, when 
he asked for the restitution of the Prince's prop- 
erty, the request was not only granted, but there 
was a further suggestion that a gratuity would be 
only proper. Marnix declared that his chief was 
too generous to think of any personal recom- 
pense and that what he had asked for was at 
his own initiative and not at that of the Prince. 
Then the deputies were rejoiced that they had 
not been taken at their word, for they had spoken 
liberally, without authorisation, and they might 
not have received the endorsement of their 
constituents upon their spontaneous generosity. 

Several times the rupture of the negotiations 
seemed imminent because of the religious difficul- 
ties; and then it was that the Prince urged 
nationalism, with adequate protection for the 
ancient faith, on such men as the Abbe of Ste. 
Gertrude, who had no intention of deserting 
the Church of Rome. It was entirely due to 
Orange personally, to his consistent conciliatory 
efforts, that any compromise was effected be- 
tween the ultra partisans of both communions. 
Very probably a more widely spread agreement 
could have been reached in 1566 than in 1576. 
The repressive measures carried on for ten years 
had effectually checked Protestantism in the 
quarters where it had originally been the strongest, 
and zeal for the reformed faith undoubtedly had 
flagged in the major part of the Flemish Walloon 
territory, though in certain cities interest was 




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[1577] The Pacification of Ghent 349 

simply latent and flashed out as soon as it was 
possible. 

The Prince had his reasons for hastening a 
decision. He was fully aware that affairs would 
take on a different colour once Philip's lieutenant 
was in the field, and he wished to confront the 
traveller with an accomplished fact. He was 
successful. The day of Don John's arrival at 
Luxemburg, November 3rd, was the very day 
before the outbreak at Antwerp. Frightened by 
that, the congress at Ghent ended their hesitation, 
so that when their deputies went forth to bid a 
formal welcome to the new governor, they carried 
the .accepted Articles of Confederation for his 
ratification, before, in their turn, they accepted 
him. And pending the interchange of pledges, 
there were stormy scenes. 

Don John had been ordered to make peace at 
any price except allowing heresy. That one 
exception proved paralysing. The Pacification 
did not " allow" heresy, but it left religious 
matters in statu quo for further decision. Then 
Don John could not mention what lay nearest 
his heart — his design to rescue Mary Stuart. He 
was quite ready to meet the Netherlanders' wish 
about the dismissal of the Spanish troops, but as 
he intended using those same troops in England, 
to achieve his other purpose, it was necessary 
that they should depart by sea, and very re- 
luctantly did he concede the point that they should 
march away on land. The deputies were firm 



35^ William the Silent ti577] 

to a degree that exasperated Don John intensely. 
In the midst of one discussion, he actually seized 
a candlestick to throw at a delegate's head, as a 
more telling argument than any other he could 
produce. 

The delegates took pains to inform Orange of 
every step of their negotiation and to impress 
upon him their consideration for his interests. 
Final signature to the so-called Perpetual Edict, 
signed at Marche - en - Famine, February 17th, 
was actually held over, pending the receipt of 
the Prince's letter, which never came. He pre- 
ferred that they should act without him in an 
accord that he knew would lead to nothing. 
Yet the articles did, indeed, yield many points. 
The Pacification of Ghent was endorsed, the Coun- 
cil of Troubles was abolished, Don John was to be 
accepted, the soldiers sent away by land, the 
ancient charters to be maintained, and the States- 
General convened. In return, the States gave 
one substantial promise. They consented to pay 
off the soldiers. 

When the facts are reported to Orange, he 
is by no means enthusiastic. The States mean 
well, but their zeal is misplaced, etc. He has 
no faith at all in Don John, less than he deserved. 
" Alva, Requesens, and Don John all had the same 
intentions, in spite of their different phrases," 
he said later. 

On his part, Don John was constantly exas- 
perated at feeling the touch of the Prince in 



t1577] The Pacification of Ghent 35 1 

every detail. He credited him, indeed, with far 
more influence than he really possessed, for the 
stranger could not see the difficulties that beset 
the leader of the opposition. "He is the pilot 
who is guiding this bark and he alone can wreck 
it or save it. The greatest obstacle would be 
abolished if we could gain him over." So wrote 
Don John to the King, March 16th. After as- 
suring his brother that his name was as hated as 
that of Orange is loved, the writer adds: 

I am negotiating with the Prince about desired 
assurances, for I see that the establishment of peace, 
as well as the maintenance of the Catholic religion 
and the obedience due your Majesty in these pro- 
vinces, depends solely upon him, and that things are 
gone so far that a virtue must be made of necessity. 
If he lends ear to my propositions, it will only be 
because the conditions are very favourable to him, 
but we needs must do this rather than lose 
everything. 1 

1 This letter is partially given by Gachard, iii., p. liii. 

On Dec. 3rd, the English Thomas Wilson writes to Lord Burgh- 
ley that the trial was to be "betwixte Don Jhon and the Prynce 
for the best game, without hopes of peace or any accorde at all. 
And suerlie if the Prynce with the States had monie, it is like that 
some greate exploite would sodeinlie bee done. And no dowte 
the Prynce is a rare man of greate authoritie universallie beloved, 
verie wyse resolute in al thynges and void of covetousness and 
that whiche is worthie of especial prayse in hym he is not dis- 
mayed with any losse or adversity, his state being better now 
than ever it was. God graunte that right maie take place & 
justice bee doune upon yearthe." 

Rel. pol. des Pays-has et d'Angleterre, ix., p. 68. 



35 2 William the Silent [1577] 

This letter seems to prove that Don John was 
really sincere in his propositions, but Orange per- 
sistently refused him credit for any truth at all. 
To the Prince's mind all Don John's offers were 
pure sham, and his advice to the States-General 
was in accordance with that belief. Certainly 
he was consulted at every step. After a time, 
Don John, discouraged and embittered by the 
constant annoyance of this unseen authority 
ever counter to his interests, began to write to his 
brother, begging for permission to take up arms 
again, so that he might beat a sense of their duty 
into "these drunken Flemish wineskins." He 
was a soldier and not fitted for the task given him. 
The more he gave way the more insolent they 
became. A child or a woman could do the work 
required of him better than he. But Philip 
gave him no comfort. On his part, the King was 
led to believe that his young brother was tricking 
him and cherishing secret designs inimical to 
him. Don John was left in a wretched position, 
trusted by none. 

More and more did the Prince of Orange become 
the personification of the party of the opposition, 
even though he was not liked by all members, of 
that opposition, and while his theological affiliations 
were feared and distrusted. A proof of this was 
the formation of a new alliance in January, 1577, 
called the Union of Brussels, whose adherents 
reaffirmed their orthodoxy, while asserting their 
anti-Spanish nationalism. Certain articles were 



[1577] The Pacification of Ghent 353 

circulated like the Compromise of 1565 and found 
many signatories, even in the North, though, 
contemporaneously, there were changes there to 
the distinct advantage of the Prince. In North 
Holland, Friesland, Groningen, and other places, 
Philip's officers were ejected and nominees of the 
States-General were accepted. In many instances, 
however, the movement was only partially Protes- 
tant. When Haarlem, Amsterdam, and other 
cities threw off the Spanish garrison and accepted 
the Prince's, the persistence of the fidelity of 
Catholics to the Church was quite as firm as had 
been the tenacity of the Protestants. This was 
especially true of the citizens of Amsterdam. 
The city was very reluctant to throw in her 
fortunes with Orange, and many of the Catholics 
preferred emigration to accepting the articles 
offered them. Others resorted to casuistry in 
order to keep their property and their places. 
They reasoned that the oaths were demanded 
illegally and therefore might be taken with mental 
reservations, that the subscribers did not mean 
what they swore to "although their words might 
seem so." 

In the spring of 1577, the chief provisions of 
the Perpetual Edict were fulfilled and Philip's 
ratification of it was in Don John's hands when 
he made his long-delayed entry into Brussels 
on May 1st. In delivering the ratification to 
the Estates, the new Governor expatiated to 
the people on Philip's wonderful love for the 
23 



354 William the Silent [1577] 

Netherlands, but Don John's aspect rather belied 
his words, for his mood did not correspond to the 
splendour of the official entry into the capital 
with all the fantastic forms beloved of the Nether- 
lands. The disappointed young man was firmly 
convinced that there was no scope for his genius 
within the government, no prospect for his 
energies beyond it, and he was thoroughly un- 
happy. He trusted none of the nobles who 
surrounded him, not the weak Aerschot, "the 
lamp lighted by Champagny after dinner," 1 nor 
his insignificant brother, Havre, nor the untrust- 
worthy Champagny himself. He knew that they 
were jealous of Orange and yet, regarding him 
as an aid against Spain, were unwilling to shove 
him wholly aside. 

Bad and good, all alike want liberty of conscience 
and they will never be diverted from this idea by 
kindness, — only by energetic measures 2 [writes Don 
John to Philip, May 31st]. The people here are 
simply bewitched by him [Orange]. They love him, 
they fear him, and want him as over-lord. They 
tell him everything and do nothing without consult- 
ing him (Ellos le aivisan de todo, y sin el no resuelven 
cosa).- 

Three days earlier, Don John reported that 
Orange had urged Aerschot not to trust the King 
at the risk of his head, saying that Philip had never 
yet learned to keep faith with heretics. The Prince 

1 Blok, iii., 115. 2 Cor. de Ph., v., p. 383. 



[1577] The Pacification of Ghent 355 

had further said that he was bald and a Calvinist 
and as such he would die {que es ya calbo y cal- 
banisto). The Spanish pun is lost in English. 1 

With complete distrust in everybody,. Brussels 
did not seem safe to Don John. In mid- June he 
retreated to Mechlin, sulked awhile, and then it 
chanced that Margaret of Valois passed down the 
Meuse to Spa to take the waters at the springs 
and to discover if there were any prospect for 
an honourable post for her brother, the Duke of 
Anjou, in the Netherlands. 

Don John went to Namur to give the traveller 
hospitable greeting on her way. After seeing her 
off, he started to go hunting, but suddenly he 
seized upon the citadel of Namur and entrenched 
himself within, behind Spanish lances, in a dis- 
tinctly hostile attitude towards the Netherlanders, 
who had so recently feasted him in "his" capital 
of Brabant. 

The news of this exploit was not well received 
at Madrid. 

I regret more than I can express [writes Philip 
to Granvelle, October 17th] these last troubles, and I 
should be very sorry if they should progress so far 
that it would be necessary to adopt a different policy 
than the present. I desire nothing so much in my 
life as to see peace and tranquillity reign in these 
lands, — so as to avoid the need of force and the damage 

1 Gachard, Cor., iii., p. lxiv. Don John added that Orange 
hated Philip more than anything in the world and would like to 
drink the king's blood. 



35 ^ William the Silent [1577] 

that results therefrom. For this motive and because 
my brother's co-operation can not procure us the 
desirable boon, as he has, I learn, antagonised the 
States by this last revolution of Namur, it seems to 
me that it would be well for you and my sister Mme. 
de Parma to go to Flanders. . . . Don John will 
show you the letters I have written to my brother 
so that you may be informed of my plans and 
intentions. * 

It was true that the Estates gradually lost all 
confidence in Don John and Orange hastened to 
make capital out of their distrust. Skilful argu- 
ments were brought to bear. On September 6th, 
it was resolved to invite the Prince to come to 
Brussels. The arguments used to bring the 
majority to this point were not wholly pacific, 
and it is more than probable that Orange knew 
of the manipulations without wishing to take 
cognisance of their details. The disturbance did 
not take on a religious character, being indeed 
rather more Orangist than Calvinist. Sufficient 
ascendancy was gained in the city councils by 
the Prince's sympathisers to ensure a warm 
reception for him when, on September 23rd, he 
made, in his turn, formal entry with public honours 
into the city which he had left informally under 
a cloud ten years previously. His reception was 
graced by as splendid performances as those in 
Don John's honour, and there was every appear- 

1 Cor. de Granvelle, vi., p. 274. 



U577] The Pacification of Ghent 



357 



ance of universal enthusiasm. Orange was at the 
very zenith of his popularity. 

On the other hand, the Spanish troops, whose 
departure had been so long in dispute, were turned 
about-face when they reached Genoa and hurried 
back to the Netherlands under Alexander Farnese, 
Prince of Parma, son of the former Regent, Mar- 
garet. He joined his young uncle at Namur 
and the era of apparent good feeling was at an 
end. There was no possibility of a perfect un- 
derstanding of the situation on Philip's part and 
without comprehension of the force of Protes- 
tant individualism, adjustment was impracticable. 
Cretisandum semper cum cretense was repeatedly 
urged as an excuse for the use of "political 
methods" on the part of Orange, and all the 
negotiations of the patriots will not bear the 
closest scrutiny. 




UNION 

MEDAL AFTER 

RUPTURE OF PEACE NEGOTIATIONS 



CHAPTER XVI 

SOME FAMILY LETTERS 
I 576-1 578 

AS a background to all this excessively compli- 
cated play of public events, Orange had now 
a household of his own for an occasional refuge, 
a household not, indeed, settled, being now in one 
town and now in another, but always centred 
around a devoted wife, ready to aid in public 
enterprises when a woman's word was possible, 
and to give the warmest sympathy to her husband 
at all times. Convent training certainly did not 
unfit Charlotte of Bourbon for the duties of wife, 
mother, and intelligent helpmate. She fulfilled 
them with conscientious pleasure. 

The marriage that had seemed almost insensate 
to the Prince's friends, really gave him a comrade 
deserving of his confidence and a consort capable 
of representing him fitly in his absence. The 
establishment directed by this Princess of Orange 
was conducted on a very different scale from that 
Brussels residence to which people had flocked 
for the sake of the good things standing night 
and day on the buffet. Often the family were 

358 



[1576-78] Some Family Letters 359 

in modest lodgings in some town where circum- 
stances demanded an official sojourn. Instead 
of there being space and to spare for any visitor 
with little or no claims upon his host, rooms had 
to be hired in the neighbourhood to accommodate 
the Prince's nearest relatives. 

In the summer of 1576, when Orange was mak- 
ing great strides towards popularity throughout 
the provinces, exerting himself so strenuously 
that he hardly had time to "breathe from morning 
to night," Charlotte was at Delft, with her small 
daughter, Louise Juliana, 1 born March 31st. 
In a postscript to his letter to John (April 4th), 
announcing the event, the Prince adds: 

M. my brother, since writing, yours of the 17th 
ultimo has arrived, in which you mention that there 
is prospect that the Duke of Saxony and the Land- 
grave may try to make trouble about the obligations 
assumed by you and my other brothers in regard to 
"her of Saxony." I am not afraid of this, because 
they really have no foundation for their accusations, 
and I cannot believe they will take any steps. In 
regard to my son Maurice, I would be quite willing 
for them to take him and bring him up, but should be 
sorry that he should have training like that of Duke 
Francis van der Lauenburg. So if they come after 
Maurice, you may answer that you must consult me 
first, and then we can act as may seem advisable 
at the moment. At the same time, I could get 

1 Married, 1593, to the Elector Palatine. Her birth made it 
important to settle the legality of the separation from Anne. 



360 William the Silent [1576- 

your opinion and that of our relations and good 
friends. x 

This somewhat time-serving statement is typ- 
ical of many of the Prince's political utterances 
that summer. It is the period of the highest 
hopes and it is also the period of the leader's 
most marked opportunism. He is ready to seize 
every passing advantage and use it as best he 
can. Never does he let himself be hampered 
by an inconvenient theory. But the stable 
element in his life is Charlotte. 

Monseigneur: It is indeed to my deep regret 
[Charlotte writes] that all the labour and pains you 
have undergone down there have not succeeded accord- 
ing to our hopes. I am especially troubled to hear of 
the accident to the big ship, and of the loss you have 
suffered in the Admiral's death, for I do not doubt 
you will be in much perplexity as to whom to put in 
his place. The Sire de Viry told me that Count 
Hohenlohe had brought you some assistance, which I 
was glad to hear, as I am also to know that you wish 
me to join you; but as I am still very weak I have not 
dared to ask your counsel since this first report from 
Zierikzee, lest I might have new cause for new fear. 
I will wait here seven or eight days, during which I 
will, please God, take the air as far as The Hague, to 
see how I feel. As to your daughter, she is very well. 
I have asked whether it would be dangerous to take 
her on the sea. Many say no. Nevertheless I beg 
you to tell me what to do. I have not failed to show 

1 Groen, v., p. 335. 



15781 Some Family Letters 361 

your letters, as you commanded me, to the Estates. 
I hope the news from France will be to your satisfac- 
tion, and then it will be to mine. I am content if you 
are, and if I can be assured of your good health, to 
which I beg you to pay attention. 

Your very humble and obedient wife as long as she 
may live, 

C. de Bourbon. 

At Delft, June 2d, 7 in the evening. 1 

It is especially strange that the Prince .should 
have thought, even for a moment, of entrusting 
his second son to alien guardians, when his eldest 
son was being so diligently educated directly 
counter to his wishes. Yet Philip William of 
Nassau in the University of Alcala seems not to 
have been alienated from his own kinsmen. In 
this same summer he writes the following note 
to Count John. Possibly permission to do this 
was part of the King's conciliatory policy. 

Monsieur: I do not doubt that you will think 
it strange to have received no news from me in this 
long time, considering the great obligation I feel 
myself under to you and to all my relations and 
friends over there, both from the natural bond of 
affinity between us, as from the continual assistance 
you have so loyally shown my father during his ad- 
versities. But, knowing the little convenience and 
dangers of the time and place where I am, I hope that 
my failure to write will be attributed to them, rather 
than to default of my duty or negligence. The bearer 

1 Groen, v., p. 366. 



362 William the Silent [1576- 

of this will give you fuller information, and I beg 
you to give entire credence to him. May the all 
powerful God send me the means of deserving all 
His mercies, and give you, monseigneur my uncle, 
good health and long life and the sum of your 
desires. 

In recommending myself to your good graces, en- 
tirely your very affectionate nephew ready to serve 
and obey you, 

P. William of Nassau. 

To Count John of Nassau. 

From Alcala, June 30, 1576. x 

Is it design or accident that the exiled student 
reduces his first name to an initial and writes 
out his second in full? 

Philip William's own sister, Marie, had been 
almost as much separated from their father as 
the Count of Buren, but her lot had been singu- 
larly happy in the midst of the Dillenburg house- 
hold, where she was a devoted granddaughter 
to Juliana of Stolberg and on terms of filial 
intimacy with her uncle. There is nothing formal 
or perfunctory about her letters. They have a 
tendency to be almost as voluminous as the 
Prince's, although her pen runs on less easily to 
the unfamiliar father than to the uncle, — less 
easily too in French, in which language she writes 
with pleasant sympathy in her father's affairs, 
domestic and public. 

1 Groen, i., p. 369. MS. in Orange-Nassau family archives. 
The writing is very clear. 



15 78] Some Family Letters 363 

I cannot tell you how pleased I am to hear that 
Madame has a little daughter and that she and my 
little sister are doing fairly well. It is a matter for 
great satisfaction as you wrote me that Madame 
being enceinte suffered acutely from hostile aspersions. 
Now that Monsieur has won three forts I hope the 
enemy will not annoy him so closely. As to Zierikzee 
I trust our Seignior will graciously permit it to be 
revictualled, etc. 

Again, later in the summer, she writes: 

Monsieur, my well-beloved father: On the 12th 
instant I received your letter [and am delighted 
to hear, etc.] ... As to my uncle and Madame I 
know nothing more to tell you than that they are 
well and we are all here at Count Albert's on a hunt 
and have taken many stags. I would that Monsieur 
were here so that you might have a little pastime, 
for I am very sure you have not any now but much 
business and worry which troubles me greatly when- 
ever I think of it, but I hope by God's grace that He 
will soon free you. I am delighted to hear by your 
last letter that your affairs in Brabant go so well 
. . . and that the result will be good firm peace, which 
I desire from the bottom of my heart so that one day 
I may see Monsieur and Madame in tranquillity. 

Further, as to what Monsieur has written me re- 
garding the chamberlain and others in charge of 
my brother Maurice, that I should give them what 
seems reasonable, I do not know just what to do. I 
am afraid of giving too much or too little. I wish you 
had said how much, but since that cannot be, I will 
ask my uncle what he thinks I could give and will 



364 William the Silent [1576- 

go by his advice, for certainly the chamberlain has 
taken great pains and, as I hear, Maurice behaves 
pretty well. I hope that will continue. . . . From 
Otweiller in Wetterich, October 15, 1576. 

Your very humble and obedient-to-death daughter, 

Marie de Nassau. 

' My sister Anne begs me to give you her compli- 
ments. She would have liked to write, but it was 
not possible because she has a bad headache. x 

Juliana of Stolberg, too, keeps an active interest 
in her son's projects. She is very solicitous about 
the articles in the peace that relate to religion. 

High-born prince, heart -dear lord and son [she 
writes]: From the bottom of my heart am I long- 
ing for news as to how it goes with my lord in these 
troublesome affairs. If common rumour be true 
the imminent peace will impose conditions very irk- 
some to soul and to conscience and Satan will be at 
hand in sheep's clothing and many pious will suffer. 
. . . Jesus Christ alone . . . can help in such peril. 
I implore my heart dear lord ... to undertake or 
approve nothing contrary to God and to the welfare 
of my lord's soul. It is better to lose temporal 
weal rather than eternal. ... I implore my lord not 
to allow himself to be persuaded to go to dangerous 
places for the world is full of craft. . . . 

Siegen, April 4, 1577. 2 

Charlotte, too, felt that the "world was full of 
craft." In a postscript to a letter of May 22nd, 

x Groen v. p. 428. 2 Jacobs, p. 276. 




JULIANA OF STOLBERG 
COUNTESS OF NASSAU 



1578] Some Family Letters 365 

she writes to Orange: " Monseigneur : they have 
made me a present of some Brussels' sausages 
which I forward to you with the petition that you 
eat very sparingly of them and that you let the 
others do all the drinking. I am pretty well and 
your daughter even better/ ' 

The Prince begins to make plans for his other 
daughters who have grown almost out of his 
knowledge. 

Your Grace's daughter, Fraulein Marie [writes 
Count John, May 26th], has shown me your letter 
desiring her to come to Holland. If your Grace 
wishes this for his own reasons, I will gladly further 
the plan to the best of my ability. But if my gracious 
lord is under the impression that she is any burden 
to me, I should be sorry, and would beg your Grace 
to banish such a thought and leave her with my 
housewife and me as long as possible, especially 
for the sake of my mother. She begins to fail 
perceptibly and if left too much alone gets melan- 
choly and depressed. She counts much on your 
Grace's daughter who is very devoted to her grand- 
mother and makes herself very useful with reading, 
writing, and giving out medicine and confitures 
and things of that kind. Her Excellency will be very 
sorry to lose this grandchild and thus have to sit 
alone. . . . My housewife has so much to do with 
the children and her housekeeping that she has little 
time to spare for her Excellency. 1 

The wish to retain her granddaughter seemed 
1 Groen, vi., p. 89. 



366 William the Silent H576- 

an eminently reasonable demand in behalf of the 
old Countess, but her eldest son feels that his 
own plans for his children are more important, 
now that he has a suitable chaperon for them and 
he insists on having Marie and Anne and the 
ten-year-old Maurice, — the last-named withdrawn 
from Heidelberg, — sent to the Netherlands. When 
the Prince makes his entry into Brussels, the 
Princess thus has his eldest daughters with whom 
to share her hopes and fears about the precarious 
honours in the midst of dreaded latent enemies 

Monseigneur: I am longing to hear [she writes] 
that you are back in Antwerp and shall not be easy 
until I am assured of that and whether Don John has 
received aid from Mons. de Guise. . . . Our girls, 
big and little, are well and so am I. 1 

Monseigneur : I arrived in this city [Dordrecht] at 
one o'clock and came with the boat to the lodgings 
where I found our little maidens in safety. The 
elder girls, hoping for your speedy return, would not 
stay longer in your rooms. They have found a good 
lodging, but it is farther away than I like, about 
fifteen houses intervening between our two. 

To-morrow your surgeon will commence to treat 
M. the Count Maurice. . . . We are well and longing 
for your return. People here tell me that the Estates 
of these lands have asked you to return and are wait- 
ing for your opinion and you can give it better if you 
are here and if peace is^made with Don John. I am 
sorry too, that M. your brother is away from you. 

x Groen, vi., p. 172. Elizabeth was born May 3, 1577. 



1578] Some Family Letters 367 

We wish he were here. Please write and ask him to 
let you keep the tutor now with Maurice. That 
gentleman is anxious at being uncertain about his 
engagement and will be disappointed not to be em- 
ployed permanently, now that he has stayed so long. 
Also he ought to know what salary he will have. I 
make you rack your brains with my questions, but I 
needs must know your wishes. I also venture to 
remind you that you ought to thank the Queen of 
England for her kindness through her ambassador at 
Brussels. 1 

Two days later, October 4th, she writes that 
Breda has been delivered up by the Spaniards. 
On its return to the Prince's authority many 
points for decision are referred to her and she is 
most anxious to give wise directions about the 
garrison, etc. 2 

A letter of October 7th is happier in tone 3 : 

Count John arrived in Dordrecht at one o'clock, 
to the great satisfaction of burgomaster and people. 
We, the girls and I, are happier than all the rest. We 
have all just dined together and drank your health, 
Monseigneur, longing for your presence. I will do 
my very best to do what you direct, but the citizens 
of this city are determined to put their gift in the 
shape of a cup, the vase of which is licorne set in 
silver. It is worth about a hundred pounds. If the 
others do the same thing, it will be certainly a proof 
of their good will, but I would like it better if all the 

1 Groen, vi., p. 173. 2 Ibid., p. 174. 

3 Ibid., p. 180. 



368 William the Silent [1576- 

states together would make a present of something 
serviceable. [Such a human wish on the part of a wife 
who is trying to be economical on uncertain revenues !] 
However, Monseigneur, I did not dare check this, 
while it is to be hoped that the generality will supple- 
ment the shortcomings of the communities. ... As 
to the 1000 florins, I have asked Jen Back to see if 
they can be furnished and where I can raise a part, 
if he cannot raise it all. We, our girls and I, shall 
miss your brother when he goes. While he is here it 
does not seem as though you were entirely absent. 
. . . We, the girls and I, are very fond of each other 
and live very intimately and they take great care of 
the little ones. . . . 

I have received [October 8th] the present you sent 
me from the Queen and I find it very pretty and well 
made. 1 As to the signification of the lizard, it is said 
that its characteristic is that if a snake attacks a 
sleeping person, the lizard will arouse him. I think 
it is you, Monseigneur, who have this attribute, — 
you who watch over the Estates, fearing that they 
may be bitten. ... 

Monsieur, I have just thought that we ought to 
give something to the gentlemen who are with M. 
your brother. If you approve, I will have your 
portrait and mine made in one medallion or apart with 
the device that you sent me. If there should be a 
little chain to hang them on, tell me what value it 
should be. 

I hear [writes Orange to Count John, from Brussels, 
October 9th] from the governor of Walcheren that 
you are in Zealand. I am glad to know that you 

1 Groen, vi., p. 10. 



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1578] Some Family Letters 369 

have been well received. . . . Everything here is 
still ambiguous, as they will not come to a firm resolu- 
tion, in spite of all my representations. Meanwhile, 
Don John goes on levying troops and fortifying him- 
self, and his designs will soon be plain. I hope soon 
to go to Breda, where I shall have my wife come and 
I hope you can join us. . . . 

Since writing the above, news has come that the 
Archduke Matthias, son of the late emperor, is on his 
way to the Netherlands, in lieu of Don John. 1 

The item in the postscript was true and sig- 
nificant. A new governor was indeed on his way 
to the Netherlands not, however, appointed by 
Philip but invited thither by the nationalist 
Catholics, to offset the Prince's influence, so 
steadily on the increase. A small group of nobles 
took fright at the situation, and the result of their 
intrigues was the sudden arrival of the Emperor's 
brother the Archduke Matthias on the scene. 
A mere puppet, he was simply put forward to 
give a show of royalty to the government of 
protest and to overshadow Orange. And how 
clever the Prince proved himself at this crisis! 
Instead of showing displeasure at the underhand 
proceedings of his alleged allies, he accepted their 
choice — propped up Matthias and ruled over his 
shoulder. He himself was made Ruward of 
Brabant, — that ancient title for a temporary 
governor being revived and bestowed upon him. 
When Orange took his oath on December 17th, the 

1 Groen, vi., p. 195. 
24 



37° William the Silent [1576- 

States-General had already declared Don John 
a public foe. Revenues were henceforth to be 
at their disposal alone. The Pacification was 
confirmed in a new instrument ; and Holland and 
Zealand agreed to allow the exercise of the 
Catholic rites. For the moment, union, modera- 
tion and toleration were in the ascendant. 

All these events delayed the Prince's return 
to his family, whose plans were contingent upon 
his arrival. Charlotte is obliged to go alone 
to Breda, when that town is at last delivered to 
its hereditary seignior. "I do not think it can 
be before Monday or Tuesday [she writes in 
response to her husband's request that she 
shall take this duty on herself] because this 
city wishes to give your brother a banquet on 
Sunday. 

"After closing my letter [she adds] I remember 
that I forgot to ask your wishes about the exercise 
of religion at Breda. Must it be secretly, or can 
I do as I do here?" x 

Monseigneur: Since the despatches [she writes 
Oct. nth] I sent you yesterday, 2 1 have been troubled 
lest you may think that I am inconsiderate with my 
questions in the face of the difficulties which overwhelm 
you at present. I assure you that there is nothing I 
am more anxious to avoid, but the proper observation 
of the Pacification gives me much anxiety. However, 
I hope when you come you will be able to provide 
for it. Until you come I can think of nothing else. 

1 Groen, vi., p. 198. 2 Ibid., p. 199. 



1578] Some Family Letters 371 

M. Taffin has withdrawn to Dordrecht until I tell 
him your decision. 

Breda proved to be in better condition than was 
expected, and Charlotte finds her housecleaning 
a fairly easy task, but she has not the anticipated 
pleasure of staying there with the Prince. Ant- 
werp seems a more fitting residence for her, and 
the united family are established in the castle 
there when the defeat of Gembloux brings 
consternation to all. 

Wellborn, friendly, heart-dear father: I must let 
you know [writes Marie to Count John], that I have 
now received about six letters from you, and rejoice 
indeed at the proof of your goodness to me, and that 
you have not forgotten poor little Maiken. Indeed, 
I can not thank you enough. I would have liked 
to answer at once, but could not as I knew of no 
messenger to your Excellency, and I did not dare 
write on an uncertainty. Pray forgive me, and' \ 
will do better, with God's help. Pray forgive me, too, 
that I was so silly at parting from you, and never 
thanked you for all your goodness to me. I would 
have liked to do so, but was too sad for words. Your 
Excellency must take the will for the deed, and rest 
assured that if my father and all of us can ever serve 
you, we will not neglect the opportunity, and I hope 
to remain your true, filial, obedient daughter as long 
as I live. It was harder to part from you than I 
dreamed it would be, but as it cannot be otherwise 
I must perforce be content. 

Your Excellency will probably have heard of the 



372 William the Silent [1576- 

changes which have taken place here since your depart- 
ure — how our people have suffered defeat, and how 
the enemy have gained Gembloux and Lou vain. I 
hope to God, things will come out right. The arch- 
duke, the Dukes of Aerschot, Havre, and other Brus- 
sels nobles are all here, with their wives. ... I heard 
that your Excellency arrived safely at Nymegen, and 
rejoice especially to know that the Guelder folk are 
glad to have you, but it will be no little burden for 
you to stay away from home so long, and besides, you 
will find it very expensive. I only hope that they 
will deserve all your trouble, and will give you an 
opportunity of going home. I know how the mother 
and wife must be longing for you as it is a wearisome 
time since they have seen you. 

Dear father, I must tell you that we are now lodged 
in the castle, and you can not believe how grievously 
cold it is. I am afraid if I stay here long, I shall be 
frozen stiff. Would it not be a joy to wake up and 
find myself in my beloved little room in Dillenburg — " 
Well-a-day ! I hope that may come in time. I must 
tell you, that your son Philip arrived four or five 
days ago. I cannot see that he is as pious as your 
Excellency says he has become, for it seems to me he 
is roguish and spoiled. I hope, though, that he will, 
come to his senses and grow rational. r 

Antwerp — in haste — Feb. ioth. 

It can never go so well with your Excellency, that 
I would not wish it a thousand times better. How 
things are here, your Excellency has doubtless heard. 
The enemy have gained Aerschot, Sichem, and Dietz, 
where, as I hear, they exercise great tyranny, so that 

J Groen, vi., p. 297. 



1578] Some Family Letters 373 

the poor people are to be pitied indeed. There is a 
rumour that the enemy mean to advance to Maes- 
tricht and even to Mechlin. All is in God's hands. 
Further, heart- dear father, I must tell you that the 
Marquis of Havre is going to England to-morrow 
or next day, and wants to take my cousin, Count Wil- 
liam, with him. As my father perceived that my 
cousin greatly desired to visit England, to see and 
learn something of the world, he thought this a good 
opportunity for him to make the journey in suitable 
company; he gave his permission and intrusted him 
to Lier, for which I was very glad, as you well know 
that he is a God-fearing noble. If my cousin William 
take him as a model, as I do not doubt he will do, 
he can learn no evil. Your Excellency would hardly 
believe how fine my cousin is now. He has grown 
much more lively than when he left you; I am sure 
you will be pleased when you see him. You may trust 
me, if it were not true I would not write it to you. 
The margrave only proposes to be absent a fort- 
night. I helped my cousin out with money as well as 
I could. I hope you will not be displeased at the 
project. 

Your true daughter, 
M. F. v. N. and 0. 
Antwerp, March 8th, in great haste. 

Then she writes again, March 15th, to tell 
Count John about the travellers in England. 
There was no need to worry about William. Lier 
would take good care of him. In dating her 
letter, she writes first "Dillenburg, in great 
haste, ' ' and adds : ' ' Your Excellency can see where 



374 William the Silent [1576- 

my heart is. As I was about to write 'Antwerp* 
out popped ' Dillenburg. ' " 
And again March 19th: 

I am sorry to hear that the grandmother is so 
poorly, but after this long life of toil and trouble, we 
cannot hope for much else. Further, beloved father, 
as your Excellency writes that he has heard that I am 
betrothed to your eldest son, I must assure you that 
I can not wonder enough how people got hold of such 
an idea, in which there is not a word of truth. It is 
hardly a fitting time for such matters, and I think too, 
he cares nothing for me. If there were such a prospect 
be sure I would tell you at once. My father is think- 
ing of taking Maurice from Breda and sending him to 
Leiden. x 

Count John was at this time in Dillenburg, 
trying to arrange his private affairs, so as to 
assume the government of Guelderland, to which 
he had been appointed. The Prince had urgent 
need of his brother, whose faithful, honest dis- 
position inspired confidence. His was a simple, 
direct nature, ponderous perhaps and sententious, 
but eminently reliable. And it was certainly a 
moment when Orange needed a friend at hand, 
in whom he could repose implicit faith. There 
were so many diverse interests to conciliate ! The 
Catholic nobles, the Protestant Hollanders, whose 
sentiments were known; Elizabeth of England, 
in one mind one day and another the next; the 

1 Groen, vi., p. 301. 



1578j Some Family Letters 375 

French Huguenots, who yet had to be so treated 
that the Catholic court would not refuse aid; 
the German mercenaries under John Casimir of 
the Palatinate; and Matthias and his backers. 
The latter were baffled first by the Prince's 
acceptance of their puppet and then by the com- 
plete inefficiency of that puppet. 

At one epoch there were actually five different 
bodies of soldiers on the field, — the Malcontents 
as the Prince's Catholic critics were called, in 
Flanders, and the French on the borders, in 
addition to the Spaniards, the States' own troops, 
and the Germans come to help them. 

The mission of the expedition to England which 
Count John's son was allowed to accompany, in 
order to see a little of the world, was to make it 
plain to Elizabeth that if she were not ready 
to give aid, the provinces were ready to admit 
the French troops hovering at the frontier and 
to accept Anjou's protection, whether she liked 
it or no. Nothing certain was obtained from 
her, however, the negotiations with France 
went on, and there was no dearth of opinions 
about it. 

As to Count John [reports a certain news-gathering 
secretary of William of Hesse, July 15, 1578], I hear 
that the Estates of Holland and Zealand wish him as 
governor in the absence of the Prince of Orange. 
They offered him 18,000 florins salary. He declined. 
Now they have sent a special messenger to urge his 
acceptance, and I think he will let himself be per- 



376 William the Silent [1576- 

suaded, urged as he is by the Prince, notwithstanding 
that the condition of local affairs and the Spanish 
majority in many cities make him fear an uprising. 
Don John is turning his army in that direction. . . . 
The Duke of Alencon (Anjou) has declared roundly 
that he will have nothing to do with the archduke, 
but must treat directly with the States. When the 
archduke heard this, he burst into tears and asked 
the bystanders if aid could not be brought from 
Germany to resist the Spaniards without applying 
to France. 1 

It was indeed a confusum chaos where intrigue 
rather than statecraft was dominant. One anony- 
mous pamphleteer acknowledges that his con- 
temporaries can hardly hope to understand the 
truth under all the various negotiations and he 
begs his gentle reader to make a point of con- 
tradicting any false statements discovered in the 
letter he publishes, so that posterity may at 
last arrive at the truth. He adds that if any 
man's actions meet general approval some- 
thing is sure to be wrong, for the public are 
fools. 2 

One more letter from the Prince to his wife may 
be given here, as an added picture of his confi- 
dence in her : 

My wife, ma mie : Lauda arrived this morning at 
about nine o'clock bringing me your letters and those 

1 Groen, vi., p. 416. 

2 Hague pamphlets, 360. Letter dated Rouen, May 25, 1578. 



1578] Some Family Letters $77 

of my brother and of M. de Sainte Aldegonde. As 
those of M. de Sainte Aldegonde were important I 
answered them immediately and begged him to give 
my excuses to you and my brother that I did not 
answer yours. Since then Count Hohenlohe arrived 
with your last. Now to answer both at once, I don't 
know what to say beyond my regret that in this state 
of affairs we cannot hope to see each other soon. 
Since I see by your last that some satisfaction can be 
given to the commune I cannot do better than take the 
advice of the Count of Schwarzburg, Sainte Aldegonde, 
and you. I am afraid it will be at least a fortnight 
before I can leave here. For the people are so divided 
in opinion that it takes time to make them all hear 
reason. ... It may be, if affairs end as they now 
promise to, that I shall render a signal service to the 
whole country and even to those who do nothing but 
criticise me. But thank God, I am so accustomed to 
continual criticism that it does not trouble me, since 
I have the consciousness of proceeding openly in this 
matter without heeding anything but the weal and 
tranquillity of our patrie. ... I hate to see all the 
dissensions but certainly much prefer to have them 
speak out openly. . . . 

I write all this to you because M. de Sainte Aldegonde 
tells me that many are interpreting the work I am 
doing as if another intention were at the root of it, 
and as if I only wished to aggrandise myself. . . . 
If it would not put us to shame I would wish that 
every one knew my condition and in what extremity 
our affairs are. I am sure they would have more 
pity for, than envy of us. But one cannot give up. 
. . . M. de Boussu's illness saddens me greatly, 
especially as Lauda tells me that the doctors have 



378 



William the Silent 



[1576-1578] 



little or no hope. Please give me frequent bulletins. 
. . . with affectionate recommendation, my wife, 
ma mie, etc. From Ghent, December 18, anno 1578. 

Your very good husband for ever, 

William of Nassau. 1 

1 Archives of the Due de la Tr6moille, Delaborde, p. 179. 




ROYAL PEACE MEDAL 

1577 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE UNION, THE BAN, AND THE ABJURATION 

I578-I58I 

IN the summer of 1578, a convention called the 
Religious Peace was adopted by the States- 
General (July 226.) which embodied the Prince's 
ideas of a just and equitable modus vivendi for 
fellow-countrymen of different creeds. 

The two main points were the absence of re- 
ligious tests for office and the provision that in 
any locality one hundred householders of one 
communion were to be free to celebrate their own 
rites. The articles were not universally accepted 
by the constituents of the deputies, Guelderland 
objecting for Protestant, Hainault for Catholic 
reasons, and there were all shades of dissension 
in between. And even when accepted they were 
not put in force except imperfectly at Antwerp, 
where the measure met with the greatest degree 
of practical success. The Reformers came rapidly 
to the fore as soon as leniency was evinced toward 
them. Exiles returned from England and very 
shortly there were enough to fill twelve or thirteen 
churches. Probably, too, the Prince's residence 

379 



380 William the Silent [1578- 

in the city gave the sectarians a greater confidence, 
while it also ensured fair play for the Catholics. 
At the same time, his uniform and consistent 
refusal to ignore Catholic rights alienated many 
of his devoted evangelical adherents, whose eyes 
could see nothing but culpable indifference to 
truth in his course. The criticism was not only 
bitter but so indiscriminating as to attack Count 
John too, although, in point of fact, he had scant 
sympathy with his brother's liberal views and was 
far more interested in bringing those of the "faith " 
together than in any abstract question of tolera- 
tion for all opinions. 

To the Count's strenuous exertions was chiefly 
due the extension to a wider circle of the alliance 
between Holland and Zealand, an extension 
agreed upon in the important instrument known 
as "The Union of Utrecht," which became in 
course of time, though somewhat fortuitously, 
the basis of the constitution of the United Nether- 
lands. It is one of the odd contradictions of the 
many in the story of the Prince's career and of 
his apotheosis as Founder of the Republic, that, 
probably, he had little part in casting this "Con- 
stitution, " even as the mere confederation that it 
was, and accepted it with reluctance, many of its 
tendencies running diametrically counter to his 
most cherished convictions of the country's best 
interests. z 

1 There are divers opinions about the Prince's participation in 
this document and it must be acknow' edged that credit for it is 



1581] The Union, Ban, and Abjuration 381 

The Union of Utrecht is spoken of as an inner 
bulwark erected by the prevision of the prudent 
Prince within the outer walls of the Pacifica- 
tion whose crumbling he foresaw. The articles 
and the many contemporaneous explanations and 
commentaries show, however, that it was simply 
a defensive league between those of evangelical 
sentiments, and of Germanic speech, for the lin- 
guistic element was also a feature although one 
that is frequently ignored. 

The fact that the contemporaneous Union of 
Arras, finally concluded in January, 1579, knit 
together the provinces predominantly Walloon 
and Catholic, shows how a tendency towards asso- 
ciation of kind lay at the root of both "Unions," 
which proved to be the germ of final disunion in 
spite of the express assertion, contained in each 
document, that the signatories meant to adhere 
to the Pacification of Ghent and to strengthen 
that larger bond by their smaller inner fortified 
circles. 

The Union of Utrecht became indeed the formal 
nucleus, as events turned out, of the later state; 
but the confederation of the seven component 
parts of that state did not by any means spring 
into being when the Union was signed, nor were 



claimed in the Apology — yet the circumstances seem to justify 
the conclusion that he stood aloof and took the best that could 
be attained, disappointed the while at the result. Fruin, The 
Union of Utrecht, i., p. 38 et passim — Muller, p. 192; Blok, iii., 
P- 137- 



382 William the Silent [1578- 

all the first signatories comprised in the later 
republic. The articles discussed in the summer 
and framed in the autumn of 1578 received the 
first subscription on January 23, 1579, when 
Count John set his seal thereto in behalf of Zut- 
phen and of Guelderland. The representatives 
of Holland, Zealand, Utrecht, and Groningen also 
signed on that day. On February 4th, Ghent 
followed suit, on March 23d, several cities of 
Friesland; July 24th, Antwerp; September 13th, 
Breda; February 1st, 1580, Bruges and the Free 
District; February 16th, Liege; and April nth, 
Drente. 

In a large measure, the " Union' ' undid and 
destroyed the work of unification that had been 
in slow progress since Philip the Good of Bur- 
gundy began to build up a realm out of a congeries 
of tiny states. The individuality of each political 
entity was reasserted in their articles of mutual 
alliance, and, in the tenacity with which that in- 
dividuality was cherished henceforth, seed was 
sown for much of the dissension that blossomed 
rankly in the palmy days of the republic. This, 
in spite of the statement that all the subscribers 
were welded together as though they were but 
one province, u alsof zij maar een provincie war en. 
That phrase may be considered the Prince's 
sentiment, but it remained a phrase only and 
was never realised in fact. 

Just as Orange had been wise in espousing 
the cause of Matthias, called in by the nobles to 



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1581] The Union, Ban, and Abjuration 383 

weaken the Prince's credit and check his ascend- 
ancy, so he was equally astute in identifying 
himself with this Union to which he subscribed 
in May. He had waited thus long "because he 
cherished the hope of bringing all the provinces 
into the confederation." There was evident re- 
luctance on his part to realise the truth that 
the breach between the two sections was to be 
irreparable — but accept it he did in his wisdom. 
By that time there was a new Spanish leader to 
reckon with. 

The victory won by Don John at the battle 
of Gembloux had convinced him that he was 
on the road to success by arms after his failure 
in conciliatory diplomacy. He had Alexander 
Farnese with him, too, to share the responsibility. 
But there proved to be more disappointments to 
share than action. The two together could do 
little, so hampered were they by absence of funds 
and by presence of sickness in their camps. Don 
John, too, had changed sadly. When Farnese met 
his uncle on his arrival he was greatly shocked by 
his appearance. The emaciated, depressed, care- 
worn man was a very different person from the 
eager, alert cavalier who had started off gaily from 
Spain in 1576. When a fever attacked him in 
August, Don John showed no power of resistance. 
After a time he was carried to the heights above 
Namur to try the effects of purer air than that of 
the camp reeking with pestilence. It was a miser- 
able shelter in which the petted hero of Lepanto 



384 William the Silent [1578- 

spent his last days, an old pigeon house having 
been hastily cleaned out for his use. 

On September 20th the invalid wrote his last 
letter to his royal brother, who had paid no heed 
to him for months. "I assure your Majesty 
that the work here is enough to destroy any 
constitution and any life," is the phrase with 
which he ends his summary of difficulties with 
which he is beset. One sentence begging for 
specific orders was underscored, thus: "La orden 
de como tengo de gobernare." When Philip had 
read this appeal, he wrote on the margin of the 
letter, "I will not answer the italicised words" 
u Lo ray ado no yo le dire". As far as the writer 
was concerned an answer was needless. Don John 
was dead when his letter reached Spain. J 

Before he expired (Oct. 1, 1578) he appointed 
his nephew his successor until Philip decided 
otherwise. The appointment was made perma- 
nent by the King and thus a new regime began 
for what remained of the loyal Netherlands. 

Alexander Farnese, Prince of Parma, took up 
the office vacated by Don John and speedily 
showed himself far better fitted for the work in 
hand. The two were nearly of an age, Parma 
being about thirty-three when he entered on his 
career in the Netherlands. But the better success 
he met with was not wholly due to his greater skill 
either in diplomacy or in military affairs. Among 
the Catholics in the Walloon country there had 

1 Stirling-Maxwell, ii., p. 286. 



1581] The Union, Ban, and Abjuration 385 

been a marked revulsion of feeling. They took 
fright lest Protestantism might be actually forced 
upon them. They wanted nationalism but they 
dreaded lest injury to the ancient Church should 
follow in its wake. Orange found himself unable 
to hold back even those who hated Spain and one 
town after another embraced the reconciliation 
offered by Parma in the King's name. The situa- 
tion was far more favourable for such efforts than 
it had been in 1576. Then the confederation 
had seemed more attractive than loyalty. In 
1578 its weakness had become apparent. As the 
breach grew wider each party declared that the 
other was the culprit in breaking the pledges of 
the Ghent Pacification. 

There was a curiously quick contemporaneous 
comprehension of both facts and the humour of 
the situation, if one may judge by a pantomime 
exhibited in one of the Paris theatres, representing 
this ''reconciliation" of the repentant provinces. 
Philip is introduced leading a nice gentle cow, 
who suddenly becomes restive, kicks up her heels, 
breaks loose, and starts to run away. Up rushes 
the Prince of Parma and tries to mend the broken 
rope while the States-General, too, make their 
appearance en masse. Some members seize the 
cow by the horns; others try to mount on her 
• back, while others simply stand aside and call for 
help. As spectators there are the Emperor, the 
French King, and the English Queen, — the latter 
sympathising now with the cow and now with 



386 William the Silent (1578- 

her pursuers. Then Anjou appears and seizes the 
cow's tail, while Orange and Duke Casimir of the 
Palatine follow with milk pails and vainly try- 
to milk the animal, until Parma stops their pro- 
ceedings by getting firm hold of the broken halter 
and leading the beast triumphantly to Philip, 
Orange and Casimir being kicked over in transit. 
The comical side of the passing show was evidently 
not lost at short range. * 

Ghent had entered the Union of Utrecht, but 
the seething unrest in which the city had been 
ever since October, 1577, showed no sign of 
abatement. In the spring, Orange sent appeal 
after appeal thither imploring the citizens to keep 
within bounds. "You are acting like a wounded 
man who tears off his bandage, like a lunatic who 
plunges a dagger into his own heart." His argu- 
ments only served to make the rabid reformers 
distrust his own sincerity. One of the ringleaders, 
Imbize, declared that Orange was nothing more 
than a papist in disguise, that he was parleying 
with France for his own benefit, etc. And the 
preachers went further. Pierre Dathenus, once 
a monk, declaimed openly against the Protestant 
leader. The Prince was an atheist, he could 
change his creed as readily as his coat, he cared 
nothing for God or religion, but made an idol of 
the state and of expediency, he would discard his 
shirt if it smacked of religion, etc., etc. 

For a time, Orange took no notice of these 

1 Strada, ii., p. 42. 



1581] The Union, Ban, and Abjuration 387 

calumnies, but finally he adds a postscript in a 
letter to the Ghent burghers: 

1 am informed that Master Dathenus has been 
stigmatising me as a man without religion or fidel- 
ity, as one consumed by ambition, etc. I do not 
think it needful to reply to his aspersions. I will 
only say that I am willing to submit to the judgment 
of all that know me. x 

The Prince could afford to trust to those who 
knew him, but, naturally, among his adherents 
there were many who never came in actual touch 
and they began to grow cold, and to fall off from 
his ranks. Probably, howevef , this chilling of the 
former fervid enthusiasm for " Father William" 
was not immediately perceived in the hostile 
camp. In the summer of 1579 intimations found 
their way to the Prince's ear that Philip would be 
glad to make his submission well worth his while. 
Orange repudiated the suggestion and refused 
to have his interests separated in any particular 
from the States. 2 The tentative offer was made 
in the preliminary stage of an international con- 
gress at Cologne, assembled for the purpose of 
arranging an accommodation between Philip and 
his subjects. Philip showed his own zeal towards 

T Groen, vi., p. 586; vii., p. 33. 

2 See Apology. But there is other testimony. Philip's envoy 
to the Cologne negotiation of that summer wrote in full to the 
King. See also Gachard, Cor., iv., p. c. et seq. This was but one 
instance of the frequent efforts at international arbitration of 
the time. 



388 William the Silent [1578- 

that end by sending five august councillors with 
the Duke of Terranova at the head to represent 
him. All the powers of Europe were there by 
proxy and they did not fail to bring skilled chefs 
to help out their diplomacy with fine banquets. 
But diplomacy, dainties, and wines alike were 
incapable of reconciling the irreconcilable. No 
peace at large was effected, while the gradual and 
increasing defection of many from the party of the 
rebels became known and soon convinced Philip 
and his advisers that the tide was turning in the 
King's favour, and if the Prince were only not 
there to hold any back by the direct exercise of 
his personal influence, the force of the rebellion 
would be broken completely. 

The clemency of your Majesty could lead them 
[the Netherlanders] to repent [wrote Granvelle to 
Philip, November 13, 1579] and refuse to expose their 
life and their property any longer for the Prince of 
Orange. As regards the Prince, it might be well to 
follow the example of all the potentates of Italy and 
offer a reward of 30 or 40,000 crowns to any one who 
would kill him or deliver him up alive. As he is 
pusillanimous, the very terror that such an offer 
would inspire in him would be of a nature to cause his 
death; or some desperate fellow, having seen the edict, 
published in Italy and France, will be seduced by the 
hope of gain and ready to strike the blow. I 

This advice was followed. The King let loose 

1 Cor. de Granvelle, vii., p. 496. 



15811 The Union, Ban, and Abjuration 389 

over Europe a formal Ban, declaring that William 
of Nassau, Prince of Orange was an outlaw and 
that his death would be a public benefit. In the 
document, Philip rehearsed the story of his griev- 
ances, how Alva had gone beyond his instructions 
and imposed an unadvisable tax upon the pro- 
vinces, how Orange had made capital out of that 
political mistake and had hastened back to the 
Netherlands from Germany to excite the King's 
subjects to rebellion. He had promised to be 
loyal to the King and to maintain the Catholic 
religion, — promises ruthlessly broken to God and 
man alike. He had married an abbess during 
the lifetime of his legal wife. The King had 
patiently tried to pacify this restless and contu- 
macious malcontent, the one hostile element 
among his loving subjects. His late beloved 
brother had also vainly endeavoured to bring this 
obdurate rebel to terms. Orange did not desire 
peace. He had gone steadily onwards in rank 
rebellion, finally having himself elected Ruward 
of Brabant by a tumultuous and unruly assembly. x 

Therefore, for all these just reasons, for his evil 
doings as chief disturber of the public peace and as a 
public pest . . .we banish him forever and forbid 
all our subjects to visit or communicate with him in 
public or in secret. . . . We declare him an enemy 
of the human race . . . and in order the sooner to 
remove our people from his tyranny and oppression, 

1 Dumont, Corps diplomatique, v., p. 365. 



390 William the Silent [1578- 

we promise, on the word of a king and as God's serv- 
ant, that if one of our subjects be found so generous 
of heart and so desirous of doing service to us and 
good to the public, who has any means of executing 
this ordinance and ridding us of this said pest, either 
by delivering him to us quick or dead, or by depriving 
him at once of life, in any way, we will give the 
said person or his heirs, landed estates or cash at 
his desire, to the amount of 20,000 golden crowns. 
If he has committed any crime — of any kind what- 
ever — we will pardon him; if he be not noble, we 
will ennoble him for his valour, and if the princi- 
pal takes other persons for his assistance in his 
enterprise, we will reward them according to the 
service rendered, pardon their crimes, and ennoble 
them too. 

This proclamation was sent to the Netherlands 
with orders that it should be published by the 
governors, "so that none can claim ignorance." 
The Prince of Parma was very loath to do his 
uncle's bidding in regard to this Ban. He thought 
it was possible that Orange might win more sym- 
pathy than obloquy if he were so publicly offered 
as a mark for the dagger of any assassin. He had 
proposed to take advice of the reconciled pro- 
vinces on the subject. Philip set aside this sug- 
gestion, but Parma did not hasten to execute 
the final commands. The Ban was not printed 
until July 2nd, and not really published by the 
councils until late in August, 1580. 

The Prince's answer to this proscription is a 



1581] The Union, Ban, and Abjuration 391 

long document, already referred to as the Apology. z 
It is addressed to the States-General and has 
nothing apologetic in its tone. Though written 
in the first person and purporting to come from 
the Prince, its composition has been attributed 
to Pierre Villiers, a reformed minister, and again 
to Hubert Languet. In the writings of the latter 
there are, indeed, many phrases like those in the 
Apology. Still it cannot be denied that the 
mark of the Prince's mind is evident throughout 
every paragraph to anyone familiar with his 
letters, formal and informal. It certainly is not 
a work of literary art. It falls far short of Lan- 
guet' s style in his letters to Philip Sidney. It is 
too long, too verbose, and loosely put together. 

If the King were scathing in his denunciations 
of the rebel leader, it must be conceded that the 
latter (assuming that Orange endorsed if he did 
not frame the sentences) repaid him in kind and 
showed an equal hospitality towards all damag- 
ing rumours about the King's deeds without dis- 
crimination between the proved and the unproved. 
Philip's character is painted in the darkest colours 
and every idle imputation is referred to as a fact. 

The whole story of the Prince's life, his relations 
with the late Emperor and the present King are 
reviewed. The writer defends his every loyal 
action up to the time of Alva's coming, and justi- 
fies himself in his disloyal course since that date, 

1 Dumont, v., p. 384. Apologie de Guillaume de Nassau. 
Editor A. Lacroix.. 



39 2 William the Silent [1578- 

as he claims that Philip had forfeited all his 
hereditary rights to the individual provinces by 
his violations of the time-honoured charters of 
the land. He quotes Demosthenes in saying 
that distrust was the bulwark of a nation against 
tyranny. Philip himself had planted distrust 
deep in the hearts of his would-be obedient sub- 
jects, and a free people had revolted, as had 
happened before in similar but far less aggravated 
circumstances. He reminds Philip that "I was 
born a free lord and have the honour of bearing 
the name of an absolute prince, although my 
principality is not of great extent." He points 
out that the imposition of the taxes had been 
unfair, unjust, and entirely illegal, but that the 
people had protested, not only against them 
but also against the suppression of liberty of 
conscience. He defends bitterly his personal 
reputation. 

It suffices for me to say in one word to you, gentle- 
men, and to all Europe, that every Spaniard or Span- 
ishised person, no matter of what rank he may be, 
who says, or who will say, as this infamous proscrip- 
tion asserts, that I am a traitor and a miscreant, that 
same person has spoken falsely and against the truth. 
... If you, gentlemen, judge that either my absence 
or my death can serve you, I am ready to submit 
to your judgment. Here is my head, over which no 
prince nor monarch but you has control. Dispose 
of it for your welfare, for the preservation of your 
republic. But if you judge that the mediocre ex- 
perience and industry which I have acquired by 



1581] The Union, Ban, and Abjuration 393 

patient toil, if you judge that the remnant of my 
property and my life can serve you, take them and let 
us work together for the defence of this good people. 
If you will continue the favour you have hitherto 
shown me, make your resolution for the preservation 
of this land and "je le maintiendrai. " 

On December 13th the Prince appeared before 
the States-General, sitting at Delft and was present 
at the reading of his letter, accompanying his 
Apology. 

Messieurs: You have seen a certain sentence in 
the form of a proscription sent hither by the King of 
Spain and published by the Prince of Parma. . . . 
I have taken the advice of many notable persons 
. . . and am counselled to do nothing to satisfy my 
honour but to publish a statement showing how un- 
justly I am accused. Recognising you gentlemen, 
alone, as my superiors, I present to you my Apology, 
in which I not only unmask the impostures of the 
foe, but justify my every action as legal. 

He ends by saying that he had tendered his 
resignation again and again to the States, but he 
was still ready for the future as he had been in 
the past to lay down his life for his country's good. 
He expressed a hope that his paper would be 
printed, so that "the whole world may judge my 
case." 1 

Four sessions (December 13th to 17th) were 
consumed in hearing and discussing the Apology. 

1 Res. des etats-gen., Dec. 13, 14, 17, 19. Gachard, Cor., vi.,41. 



394 William the Silent [1578- 

It was finally resolved that the Ban was as in- 
sulting to the Estates as to the Prince ; and a vote 
of entire confidence in the latter was passed. 
His answer contained nothing but the truth, etc. 
He had accepted office only in response to earnest 
entreaty and they refused to consider his resig- 
nation. Thus he was completely supported by 
his official chiefs. 

The Ban declared the Prince without the pale 
of the law and it was natural that his answer should 
give the best view of himself as not only within 
it but standing on the loftiest pinnacle of right 
action. There is an instinctive aversion to hearing 
self-praise, — therefore there are parts of the 
Apology which leave the reader cold. Again > 
there are many inaccuracies of statement, when 
checked by other evidence. Part of the apparent 
self -appreciation, as part of the inaccuracy, may 
be due to the secretary, whether he were a scholar 
like Languet or a mere scribe, part to forgetfulness 
of items when events have crowded so close upon 
each other. If Orange were the author the 
Apology does not show him at his very best. But 
allowance must be made. He was sorely tried. 
One noble after another had passed from his camp 
to Parma's as though leaving a sinking ship and 
he had to bear other attacks on his honour from 
behind his back in addition to the Ban. 

Since my Apology was written a false letter forged 
by my enemies has fallen into my hands, purporting 



1581] The Union, Ban, and Abjuration 395 

to have been sent by me to the Duke of Anjou, or as 
they say, Alencon, and intercepted by them. Copies 
have been distributed over Christendom. This letter 
is so uncouth in style and in matter that anyone 
might by casual reading discover that it is but an 
impudent invention, unworthy of answer. 1 

In the forged letter occur the following passages : 

As to religion, that is plain and clear. No sovereign 
ought to be hampered by consideration of it. By 
means of the fortresses and garrisons your Highness 
will easily master the chief Flemish and Brabant 
cities, even in face of opposition. Afterward you can 
compel them without difficulty to any religion which 
may seem conducive to the interests of your Highness. 

Such words were well calculated to cause 
distrust in the minds of those already weakened 
in their allegiance to Orange by zealots like 
Dathenus. Defection had begun to be very 
serious even before the publication of the Ban. 

"It is rumoured [writes Count John to his 
brother] that the eldest son of my brother-in-law 
de Berghes has taken a regiment over to the 
Prince of Parma. I still hope for the best and 
shall hear within two days . ' ' 2 The rumours proved 
true, and this defection of one of the Nassau family 
was a heavy blow. 

1 To the States- General. Groen vii., p. 380. In the collection 
of pamphlets at The Hague, there is abundant evidence of the 
wavering public opinion at this epoch. Apologie, p. 37. 

2 Groen, vi., 642. 



396 William the Silent [1578- 

"I could not leave the Prince just now [writes 
Count John, July, 1579], as he is deserted by 
nearly everyone except the Governor of Friesland 
and myself." 1 Even this modest numbering of 
the Prince's friends proved an over-estimate. 
The said governor was George de Lalaing, Count 
of Rennenberg. In March, 1580, he too deserted 
and received "as the price of his virtuous resolu- 
tion to return to his sovereign, 10,000 crowns 
down, 10,000 in three months, and a pension." 

Even though realising his brother's lonely 
position, Count John became more and more 
desirous of resigning his own office in Guelder- 
land. His position there was painful in the 
extreme. No salary for his services was forth- 
coming. Often he had no cash for baker or 
butcher and his house was out of repair. Not 
only did he think the political future dark but he 
was anxious to give his entire attention to his 
private affairs. His wife had died. His mother- 
less children, whom he was trying to educate at 
the least possible expense needed his care. More- 
over he felt that it was incumbent on him to take 
a new wife. Indeed his first thought in that 
direction came very promptly after his loss, as 
is evident from this letter to his confidential 
friend : 

Dear Doctor Schwartz : In order to have your ad- 
vice freely on a certain matter, I will not conceal from 

x Groen, vii., 35. 



1581] The Union, Ban, and Abjuration 397 

you a vision I had about it. On the 21st of last July, 
I was very anxious at having had no news from my 
sainted spouse. Just as I was going to bed, I called 
my servants in to know what they had heard from 
her Excellency, and felt, although they would answer 
nothing, that all was not well with her. Then I went 
to sleep, very heavy hearted, and that same night 
I thought I was married again to the Fraulein we 
were speaking of, and I dreamed it so often that I was 
annoyed. On the following morning when the sad 
tidings were announced to me by my servants and 
the Prince's messenger, sorrow made me forget my 
dream; but after the lapse of several months, when 
the dowager electress was suggested to me among 
others, not only did that dream occur to me, but also 
something else. As far as I know I have never spoken 
a word to the maiden all the days of my life, but I 
remember hearing both from my sainted spouse and 
from the Prince's daughter, that she had quite an 
inclination for me. Once she sent me a message 
through my late wife and my niece that I might al- 
ways trust her. Of course, my marriage with the old 
electress would be pious, virtuous, and on many 
accounts advisable for me; moreover she has borne 
her cross, knows how to treat gentlemen, and when 
she should be patient, but as she has already had 
two husbands and is rather older and taller than I am, 
I do not feel altogether drawn towards her. 

The Prince rather favours the old one, while the 
Princess and the Prince's daughters prefer the young 
lady. So I have come to the conclusion you will see 
in the enclosed instructions. Will you, in as quiet a 
manner as possible, make inquiries about this person, 
what_kind of a mind, head, and character she has, 



398 William the Silent [1578- 

and then talk to my mother about it at the first 
opportunity? If there be no reason why such a 
marriage should not take place with conscience and 
honour, just begin the negotiations. Do not allow 
any needless gossip [allerhand unniltz Geschwetz].* 

On April 9, 1580, John sends Count Ernest of 
Schauenburg a long epistle. After descanting 
on affairs in general he says: 

The States- General will meet in eight or ten days 
to discuss three points: item, — government for the 
whole Netherlands; item, — the better maintenance 
of military affairs; item, — how to come to an under- 
standing with Alencon. The land is loath to take 
this step, but there is no other alternative, etc., etc. 
The Prince, thank God, is pretty well, and so are his 
wife and children. He is in fairly good spirits in 
spite of incredible labours, dangers, and fatigues. 
You could not believe that any man could endure so 
much, and you would rejoice if you could see him. 
His two eldest daughters are not yet married ; perhaps 
something will be done about it soon. Count Gun- 
ther and his wife are fairly well, as times go. His 
Honour manages to have plenty to eat and drink, 
and to gather a pleasant company around him. 
Nothing is lacking to him except that he is not 
sufficiently paid, and he is often tormented with the 
gout, and my sister with the toothache. If his debts 
were only settled they would certainly lead a stately 
existence. Until that happens, his Honour, as well as 
I, is driven to borrow money from time to time,_and 

* Groen, vii., p. 323. 



1581] The Union, Ban, and Abjuration 399 

he is often forced to send both his plate and my 
sister's jewels on a little pleasure trip. As for myself, 
I keep fresh and sound, but am very poor, and tired 
out with so much work. If I wanted titles, or were 
willing to enrich myself without remorse or consid- 
eration for the nation's stress, I have had opportu- 
nities enough to do so, etc. 1 

There was soon greater reason for a new mis- 
tress at Dillenburg, for when Count John finally 
took a leave of absence and returned home, he 
was too late to say farewell to the mother about 
whom his own family life had centred for so 
many years. To the very last, Juliana of Stolberg 
kept in close touch with her distant children. 
In the midst of a fever which attacked Orange in 
June, he writes to her apologising for being so bad 
a correspondent. She would understand if she 
could see his pressure of business. He promises 
that Marie shall write, and Charlotte does so 
by the same courier, speaking of her husband's 
overweight of work, of his fever and recovery, 
adding modestly as a loyal daughter-in-law, who 
feels that she is of less importance to the Countess 
than her son and grandchildren: 

As to myself, I am as usual and very happy with our 
big and little children and only wish I might have the 
honour of seeing you once more in this life. My 
eldest, Louise Juliana, says you would love her the 
best because she has your name. She begins to 
speak German and is tall for her age. 2 

1 Groen, vii., p. 327. 2 Ibid., p. 367. 



400 William the Silent (1578- 

These letters were the last ever written to the 
old dowager, who had given so many offspring 
to the world and yet passed out of it without 
either son or daughter by her side. Juliana's 
married daughters were all scattered far and wide. 
One granddaughter there was in Dillenburg, the 
eleven-year-old Emilie, the Prince's child, whom 
he had scarcely seen since her unfortunate mother 
gave birth to her. John's little boys had been 
sent away with due consideration to that ever- 
needful economy in the plans made for them; 
and Fraulein Juliana had been placed under the 
charge of the Landgravine "without costing us 
a penny," as the sympathetic and economical 
Dr. Schwartz informs the Count. 

Thus it chanced to be a favourite nephew, 
Count Ernest of Schauenburg, staying at Dillen- 
burg, who was the sole kinsman to hear Juliana's 
last good-night and her wish that he should have 
"what his soul and body needed and a pleasant 
morrow for the next day." That was on the 
evening of June 17th. To her own next day 
there was no full morrow, though she was still 
able to give a silent blessing to Ernest before 
death came at eight o'clock. The word of her 
serious condition reached even her nearest child- 
ren too late for them to be at her bedside in 
time. 1 Her daughter Elizabeth and the Count 
of Solms-Braunfels travelled hastily through the 
summer night and arrived after her voice was 

'Jacobs, Juliana v. Stolberg, p. 276. 




WILLIAM OF NASSAU, PRINCE OF ORANGE, 1581 



1581] The Union, Ban, and Abjuration 401 

silenced. Only a few of the many children and 
cousins were present at the funeral, on June 22nd, 
but their absence was not from lack of respect or 
affection. Juliana's memory was warmly cher- 
ished. Twenty maidens, big and little, were known 
by their grandmother's name at the time of her 
death, and it would be difficult to enumerate all her 
namesakes in the European courts between 1580 
and 1909, when the wee Princess Juliana of the 
Netherlands revived memories of, and tributes to 
the ancestress, freshly honoured in her baptism. 

More than a hundred living descendants sur- 
vived the Countess of Nassau. In three hundred 
years the male lines have died out, in spite of 
the very large families in each generation. But 
through the daughters there are still many sur- 
vivors of her blood and some of the soundest and 
most intelligent men and women of the royal fam- 
ilies could trace descent to her. 

The loss of his mother hastened both John's 
departure from Guelderland and his marriage 
plans. He was glad to get home where he could 
settle affairs to his liking without being called 
on to cudgel his brains over insoluble problems 
or to attempt to satisfy discontented as well as 
alien people. In regard to a second alliance, he 
decided that the late Elector Palatine's daughter 
Cunigunde was a more suitable partie than her 
stepmother. x 

1 The dowager was Emilia de Nuenar, widow of Henry Breder- 
ode before her marriage to the Elector-Palatine. 
26 



402 William the Silent H578- 

The complaisant Dr. Schwartz admitted the 
desirability of giving weight to the Count's dream 
as to his choice, and further offers the opinion that 
certainly "it would look odd to seethe Countess 
taller than the Count when they were in company 
or walking on the street together. " The wedding 
was celebrated in September. Charlotte's letter 
of congratulation, accompanying the Prince's 
regrets that they could not be present, is very 
cordial. She had loved the bride as a sister in 
the Heidelberg days and looks forward to greeting 
her soon in their new relationship. 

To what degree did these family matters really 
influence the Count's retirement and how large 
a part did his distrust of his brother's French 
policy play in his extreme reluctance to take a 
prominent role in Netherland affairs? Probably 
his anti-French prejudice was a factor. He seems 
to have felt far more at ease in discussing the com- 
plications of Netherland affairs and the dangers 
of this scheme of protection with the Landgrave, 
with Lazarus Schwendi, and with other Germans 
than with Orange. All the above concluded 
that it was a terrible medley, a confusion chaos. 
There was complete concensus in this opinion, 
whether expressed to the Prince himself or to 
others about his affairs. And letters of cautious 
advice were fairly explicit. ' ' Do not go too far with 
the slippery and treacherous French, under whose 
sail neither state nor prince has ever entered port." 
"Do not commit the grave error of driving out 



1581] The Union, Ban, and Abjuration 403 

the Archduke, whose presence has preserved your 
authority through confusion." " Believe, when 
God blinds men, then destruction, is at hand." 
"There will be a more bitter feeling against the 
French than the Spanish King, who is lord by 
nature and can thus justify himself." 

One answer to these warnings drafted by 
Orange was couched in such bitter terms about 
German lukewarmness that the Prince thought it 
impolitic to send it. A second is more moderate, 
but he makes it plain that he cannot accept any 
advice of the kind offered. 

Those who owed us aid are deaf to our prayers. 
What can we hope from reform within the Church? 
Germany's experience has proved the futility of 
such a scheme. Was not the Council of Trent as 
long as the trunks of ten elephants, only to end in 
a flat condemnation of Protestants as heretics and 
excommunicants ? x 

These lands are in more danger than is Germany. 
If you realise, as you seem to do in your letters, that 
it is impossible to remedy the troubles without 
granting free exercise of religion, I fail to see your 
ray of good hope, as there is the same disposition as 
ever to root out pure religion. In my simple judg- 
ment, your phrase can be turned "when God blinds 
men, their ruin is at hand." For they [the enemies 
of religion] will not see the deplorable condition of 
Christendom, the ruin of nourishing states, and the 
advance of the Turks, and think only of extirpating 

1 Groen, vii., p. 230. 



404 William the Silent [1578- 

those whom they ought to protect. So, monsieur, 
it seems to me that if this land, seeing itself so ill 
treated, resolves to change its prince, — which I am not 
yet sure it will do, — the blame should be cast on those 
who are the cause, and not on the poor sufferers. 

And if, in this case, they find themselves obliged 
to abandon the Archduke — whose humble servant I 
am, and I would feel more than any living man if 
harm or indignity came to him — it is not their fault, 
but the fault of those who from lightness of heart, or 
from some trivial reason, have withdrawn their hand 
from him, and abandoned him entirely. Is it not 
true that his imperial Majesty refused to acknowledge 
his title of governor, which other strangers accorded 
him? Also, in this last treaty at Cologne, his Majesty's 
commissioners were surprised that the States- General 
of this land demanded him for governor, and rejected 
that article entirely. Besides, not only by conni- 
vance, but also by express testimony, verbally and in 
writing, they have approved the act of the provinces 
who separated from the ''generality" of the Estates, 
and allied themselves to Spain, by which his Highness 
was deprived of his governorship, with the same 
frivolity with which they summoned him, without 
even informing their allies of their action. 

If the Emperor and Princes made so little of having 
approved his rejection, what hope could be given to 
the people, of aid from him, abandoned by every one, 
even by those who are the nearest, and have the 
strongest reason to wish him to remain? What 
fault can be imputed to those if, in their necessity, 
they turn to another? Everyone knows that I have 
done my best to honour him, though I was not con- 
sulted on his coming. . . . Schwarzburg and M. des 



1581] The Union, Ban, and Abjuration 405 

Pruneaux assured me that, if I could hold the treaty 
with M. Anjou in abeyance for three months, I would 
do service to the House of Austria. — The negotiation 
has not only been delayed three months, but nearly 
two whole years, by which any one can see that we 
have not thrown ourselves headlong into the arms of 
the French. His Majesty had plenty of time to come 
to a decision had he wished. You undoubtedly mean 
well, but there are pensioners of Spain about the Aus- 
trian court who have done their best to do us damage. 
As to the slippery and fraudulent nature of the 
French, pray, what title can be given to the Spaniards 
and the Spanishised, who have thrown not only their 
subjects, but their allies into servitude and destitution? 
The reputation of those who had these provinces 
under their domination is far worse than the fame of 
those who united Brittany, Guienne, Burgundy, or 
Piedmont to France. 

The Prince's mind was completely made up 
and in spite of difficulties and criticism he paved 
the way for Anjou' s coming to the Netherlands 
as protector. The Treaty of Plessis les Tours, 
providing for this event, was ratified by the States- 
General on December 30, 1580, and further con- 
firmed in France by the Treaty of Bordeaux, 
January 23, 1581. 1 Before the reception of this 
French quasi - sovereign, a determination had 
been reached to abjure Philip's sovereignty; to 
sever definitely a tie which it was claimed de- 
pended from God himself. 

1 Lavisse, v., p. 198. 



406 William the Silent [1578- 

The Flemings [says the royalist Renon de France] 
violated the faith which Nature herself teaches each 
nation to cherish for her legitimate sovereign. x Many 
people trembled with apprehension, which was in- 
creased by a terrible earthquake felt in Flanders and 
as far as Paris. 2 

Undoubtedly many did tremble at the au- 
dacity of the snapping of feudal claims, but the 
action proceeded with calm deliberation of legal 
procedure. The States- General removed their 
sessions from Delft to Amsterdam, from Amster- 
dam to The Hague, and there in the great hall of 
the ancient Count's palace, Philip was declared 
deposed from his hereditary rights and from the 
sovereignty into which he had been so solemnly 
introduced a quarter of a century previously. 
Representatives from Brabant, Guelderland, 
Flanders, Holland, Zealand, Friesland, Mechlin, 
Overyssel, and Utrecht were present. In the ar- 
ticles of the Union of Utrecht it was stipulated 
that the charter of Brabant, known as the Joyous 
Entry, should be valid for all provinces. There 
were special reasons for this, as that charter 
justified rebellion in case the privileges therein 
granted were infringed by their Duke. This same 
charter was now used as a warrant for discarding 
the sovereign altogether. The article upon which 
the right rested runs as follows: 

In case that we, our heir or successor infringe any 
z Hist. des troubles, etc, iv., p. 564. a Strada, ii., p. 135. 



15811 The Union, Ban, and Abjuration 407 

of the aforesaid privileges in all or in part, in any 
manner whatsoever, we authorise our aforesaid good 
people that they should offer no further service nor 
obedience to us, to our heir or to our successor. 

Thus the abjuration was distinctly an act of 
throwing off the feudal bonds between vassals 
and overlord. x It looked backwards to the Middle 
Ages, not forward to the sentiments rife at the 
time of the American and French revolutions. 
It was not a declaration of independence but 
a simple division between state and a sovereign, 
division pronounced, indeed, after a new lord 
had been chosen. Certain phrases in the docu- 
ment of abjuration seem, to be sure, strangely 
suggestive of the American Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, but there is a different light behind 
them, radiating from Mediaeval times and not 

1 The reformed had grave doubts as to whether they might 
legally abjure the king. Both Roman law and the Bible 
seemed to be against it (Romans iii., I and 2). Calvin's 
solution was that states were ordered by God. Groen says 
that at the abjuration republican principles are put to the 
fore because the Catholics would have been frightened if 
too much stress were laid on religious reasons. But a delib- 
erate intention like that seems open to doubt. Mediaeval 
rather than modern notions predominated in the Netherlands. 
The foundation of the relation between prince and people was 
the oath of homage. If the nation were to break the oath, they 
would lose their privilege; if the prince broke his, then he lost 
the sovereignty. A certain number of people never considered 
themselves freed by the abjuration. It was only after the ac- 
cession of Philip III. that this school felt free. No oath had 
ever been taken to him. (Staatsinstellingen in Nederland, p. 51. 
Muller, p. 260.) 



408 William the Silent [1578- 

from ideas of natural rights and universal 
liberty. 

The state of affairs had been absurdly illogical. 
The name of King Philip II. had been scrupu- 
lously inserted in all declarations of war against 
him. The fiction that his honoured right hand 
knew not what evil his left hand, as represented 
by his Netherland lieutenants, was doing, was 
zealously maintained. But the conviction that 
action could only be performed in the name of 
one supreme ruler was deep seated. The Prince 
might easily have been that one, but he would 
not. He wanted prestige and power behind 
him and was ready to enhance the prestige while 
holding the power in leash. 

As the abjuration introduced no new situation, 
as it simply phrased and formalised a condition 
that had existed in Holland and Zealand for nine 
years, plans were quickly matured for the accept- 
ance of the French prince who had so little to 
recommend him individually. In the face of all 
the discouragement of the last few months, 
Orange yet saw his own views adopted and his 
dreams of the French protectorate come true. 
But there was Matthias! He was the shadow of 
Philip's shadowy authority in the revolted pro- 
vinces. With the abjuration of his cousin's 
sovereignty his own office expired per se. His 
resignation was accepted without regret, he set off 
for Germany in October without taking leave, and 
it is quite probable that the 50,000 florins pension 




CHARLOTTE DE BOURBON, 1581 
PRINCESS OF ORANGE 



-1581] The Union, Ban, and Abjuration 409 

voted to him by the States was a gift as empty 
as his own authority. 

Until the arrival of Anjou, now governor-elect, 
the Prince was to administer the government. 
So it was resolved by the "generality," without 
the assent of Holland and Zealand to the 
temporal phrase. They put no time limit in 
their articles accepting Orange. They intended 
to consider Anjou only as governor of their 
allies. 

Thus the seventeen provinces were to 
be severed in three portions, one under the 
Prince of Orange allied to the second under 
Anjou, and the third under the Prince of 
Parma, though, of course, Parma claimed to 
be governor over all. The inhabitants of the 
first two were asked to take the following 
oath: 

I solemnly swear that henceforward I will neither 
respect, obey, nor recognise the King of Spain as my 
prince and master; that I now renounce the King of 
Spain and consider myself absolved from the alle- 
giance I formerly owed him. At the same time I 
swear fidelity to the United Netherlands, namely, 
the provinces of Brabant, Flanders, Guelderland, 
Holland, Zealand, etc., etc., and also to the national 
council and superior body established by the Estates 
of these provinces ; and promise my assistance accord- 
ing to the best of my abilities against the King of 
Spain and his adherents, and all other national 
enemies. This is done and resolved in the assembly 



4io 



William the Silent 



[1578-1581] 



of the States- General of the United Netherlands in 
The Hague, July 29, 1581. 1 

And for the " generality, " connection with Spain 
was at an end, even though some portions later 
shifted over to the other side. 

1 Renon de France, iv., p. 565. 




STATES-GENERAL MEDAL 




UNION OF UTRECHT 



CHAPTER XVIII 

THE FRENCH PROTECTOR 
I58I-I582 

THE remainder of the Prince's life — life hence- 
forth ever under shadow of the Ban — was 
consumed in herculean efforts to establish, jus- 
tify, and support the French puppet set on the 
stage at last, at the end of the long negotiation be- 
tween France and Orange. Puppet is not the 
proper term, perhaps ; the Duke of Anjou was by- 
no means the complete nonentity that Matthias 
had been. He was, however, nothing more than a 
wretched, degenerate young man, seeking a for- 
eign career as cadet of his House, and decidedly 
inferior to the monarch deposed to make place 
for him. The one difference that made him more 
acceptable for the moment should weigh against 
this French Duke in judging the sincerity of his 
motives as compared to the Spanish King's. 
Posing as a devout son of the Church, Anjou 
was yet ready to sanction the creeds forbidden 
by her edicts, as Philip could not bring his mind 
to do for any political advantage whatsoever. 
There were plenty of critics in and out of the 
Netherlands with sufficient clearness of vision 

411 



412 William the Silent nssi- 

to perceive that it was not to Anjou's good that 
he suppressed his own convictions in order to 
acquire the government desired by him and still 
more by his mother, who wanted to see the four 
crowns that had been predicted for her sons 
gained without any more deaths among them. 
The iron quality of Orange's will was proven 
by his persistence in this matter, contrary to the 
counsel of every friend. Proverbs, predictions, 
and prayers were hurled at his head. And he 
met each argument with perfect calmness. To 
Count John's lengthy, cautious pleas he replied 
that the man fallen among thieves did not refuse 
the aid of the Samaritan of different faith, after 
the priest and Levite had passed him by. x To the 
remonstrances of others, it was urged that a 
dog whose faults were known could be made a 
safe guardian of a flock, if properly muzzled. 
"Not what we wish the most, but what we can 
attain, " he repeated in many different forms to all 
who were honestly pained to see him transferring 
the struggling provinces from frying pan to fire, 
a homely phrase often used in the interminable 
discussion and comment of the time. 

During the autumn of 1581, Anjou was busy 
with another courtship besides that of the "beau- 
tiful maid," in whom Orange had personified the 
Netherlands. He was also wooing the Queen of 
England. 2 As Elizabeth Tudor was born in 1533 

1 June 20, 1 58 1. Groen, vii., p. 573. 

2 Anjou went to England in the summer of 1581. 



1852] The French Protector 413 

and thus was exactly the same age as the "bald 
and calvinistic" Orange, she counted forty -eight 
years to her suitor's twenty-eight, but none the 
less the clever politician was at one and the same 
time a vain woman, open to flattery and ready 
to be persuaded by, assuredly to give complaisant 
ear to, Anjou's hollow assurance that he loved 
her for herself alone. There was a certain boy, 
seventeen years old in that year 1581, who could 
have made an irresistible comedy of the farce 
enacted at Elizabeth's palace, had he only taken 
a contemporaneous theme for his wonder-working 
pen and simply thrown actual phrases used into 
a dramatic form. Shakespeare would have needed 
no invention to make the truth funnier than 
any fiction, had he portrayed Elizabeth playing 
fast and loose with the offers of her "dear frog," 
now exchanging rings with him, now calling him 
her future husband, and now promising to be 
a sister to him. Perhaps it was his extremely 
uncouth appearance that finally induced her to 
reject him as a spouse, but the rejection was not 
pronounced until the ridiculous courtship, honey- 
combed with insincere phrases, had gone on for 
many months between the shrewd spinster and 
the undersized, puny, ill-shaped dukeling. 

Frangois Hercules of Valois certainly was no 
personality to charm any one. His face was 
pockmarked, his skin blotchy, his nose almost 
double. The general impression was that, at 
the end, Elizabeth found him too hideous to 



414 William the Silent [1851- 

endure. She did not, however hurt his feelings 
by any such straightforward, bald statement. 
She did not take back her ring and she did escort 
him as far as Canterbury on his way to the coast, 
and commissioned her favourite, Leicester, and a 
noble train to accompany him over to the Nether- 
lands and to deliver her own letters to the States, 
desiring that Anjou should be treated as if he 
were her "second self." Elizabeth and Orange 
were really two of the cleverest people in Europe 
at this epoch; both perfectly able to see through 
motives and the character of the whole tribe of 
Valois, but in their relations with Anjou, Elizabeth 
showed herself far wiser than the Prince. She 
flattered him and dropped him; Orange held 
fast, convinced, as he stated, that a muzzle and a 
leash were sufficient guard against any harm 
that might come from a vicious protector. He 
banked on two supports, Elizabeth's hand 
stretched out from England to prop up her be- 
trothed husband, and King Henry's hand from 
France to hold his brother firmly in the new seat, 
which he wholly approved, not because he wished 
him well but because France was thus relieved 
of Anjou's presence. Orange simply played for 
high stakes, fully conscious of the risks. 

At the very spot where Philip, Duke of Bra- 
bant, Count of Flanders, etc., had bade Orange 
an ungracious farewell when he set sail for Spain 
in 1559, the Prince welcomed the man whom he 
meant to clothe with dignity taken from the 



1582] The French Protector 415 

King of Spain. Leicester, Philip Sidney, and the 
other Englishmen witnessed a magnificent, al- 
most regal reception, although the provinces 
actually involved in the transaction were only a 
small geographical fragment of a tiny country. 
And equally magnificent was the progress to the 
outskirts of Antwerp, where Anjou received hom- 
age and gave his own pledge to his self-offered 
subjects, before being admitted within the city 
walls. This was strictly in accordance with 
ancient usage on the reception of a new duke, 
but it also fitted into the programme of "muz- 
zling" this particular French puppy. 

Orange himself placed the ducal mantle on 
the new incumbent's shoulders. 

As he buttoned it [says a contemporary] he used 
words noted by his suite and all the company: '■ Mon- 
seigneur, this button must be securely fastened, so 
that no one can snatch the mantle from your High- 
ness . ' ' Then as he put on the hat , he added : ' ' Mon- 
seigneur, I pray God that you may guard this dress 
carefully. Now you are indeed Duke of Brabant." 
Many of the bystanders would willingly have wa- 
gered that the button was not firmly buttoned nor 
the hat securely set and the end justified that 
prognostication. 

In all the ceremonies the most precise pledges 
were demanded, and apparently the Duke 
was hedged in by precautions that ensured a 
strictly constitutional, limited exercise of au- 



416 William the Silent [1581- 

thority, before the Joyous Entry was made into 
Antwerp. 

The whole performance was marked by a medi- 
aeval disregard of international equity. France, 
Spain, and England were not at war with each 
other. Yet here was the brother of the French 
monarch calmly accepting titles and prerogatives 
belonging by heritage to the Spanish King, pos- 
sessions and dignities which the heir to the Duke 
of Burgundy had not the remotest idea of re- 
nouncing. Moreover, the incoming "Duke of 
Brabant" came direct from the English Queen, 
being generally regarded as her fiance, and 
accompanied by her accredited envoys, while 
she continued to write pleasant notes to her 
brother of Spain when the spirit moved her. 

Surely these events were on the last glimpses 
of the confused theories of the Middle Ages, — ■ 
not the initial steps of democratic participation 
in a federal government. 

While Orange was thus setting up a golden 
image, the golden reward offered in the Ban for 
his own removal began to stimulate various 
persons. The liberal offer appealed to bankrupts 
wanting money, to criminals desirous of rehabili- 
tating themselves, and last, but not least, to 
fanatics who honestly believed that Orange was 
a danger to the eternal life of many thousands by 
encouraging them in religious anarchy. It chanced 
to be a bankrupt who instigated one assault on 
the Prince and one that was nearly fatal. 




ORANGE MEDAL 




ANJOU MEDAL 



1582] The French Protector 4 X 7 

At Antwerp the many discordant elements 
latent in the new alliance peeped out immediately 
between the folds of the magnificent inauguration 
drapery. The new sovereign was dissatisfied 
with the private celebration of the mass at the 
Abbey of St. Michael where he was established. 
He demanded public rites in accordance with the 
provisions of the Religious Peace and only ob- 
tained some grudging concessions at the Prince's 
instance. During the first month of the new 
regime, many weak spots appeared in the compact, 
and there was instant readiness to suspect bad 
faith on the part of the French when Orange 
was suddenly shot down in his own house on 
March 18 th. 

It was a Sunday. The Prince had heard a 
sermon in the chapel of the citadel and afterwards 
went to midday dinner, accompanied by several 
guests, the French ambassador, M. de Laval and 
M. des Pruneaux being of the party. In the 
evening all were to sup at a great banquet offered 
by the new Duke of Brabant to the States- 
General and others in commemoration of his 
birthday. The repast at the Prince's house was 
no banquet but a family meal where all the house- 
hold was present, including the fourteen-year-old 
Maurice and two of Count John's younger sons. 
The conversation was lively and the company 
lingered long over the dessert. Then as the 
Prince led the way out of the dining-room he 
paused to comment on the tapestry, in connection 



4 1 8 William the Silent ti58i- 

with a remark regarding it made by one of the 
-'guests. He was just about to pass on through 
the door, still looking upward, when 

suddenly [writes W. Herlle to Lord Burghley] a per- 
son of small stature and less representation (of the age 
of three or twenty-four years, [sic] ill clad, and of face 
pale, drawing to a black melancholick colour, shaven, 
saving the upper lip, whence a thin black hair began 
to issue) presented himself as though he had some 
request to exhibit and once being put back by a 
halberder, still persisted and suddenly discharged a 
pistol (that he held unseen) at the Prince, which by 
reason of overcharging recoiled in his hand and made 
the piece and bullet to mount upwards from his level, 
taking the Prince between the ear and the end of the 
jaw of the right side, passing clean through the left 
cheek, without offence to the artery e, the jaw, tongue, 
or tooth (as yet hitherunter is said) saving that it 
grated upon one tooth, whereat the Prince nether 
staggering, nor astonyed, behelcl the fellow, till he, 
amazed with his own fact, and bound as it were to the 
place by a divine power, let his dagger fall to have 
made away, whereat one Bonny vet stabbed him in 
the breast, and then he was presently slain in furie by 
the company much against the Prince's will, who cried 
still to save him, but in vain, for he had in less than 
a moment no less than thirty-three mortal wounds 
given him. 1 

1 Groen, Supplement, 221. The story is given in a contem- 
poraneous pamphlet entitled: Bref recueil de Vassassinat commis 
en la personne du tres illustre prince d' Orange Comte de Nassau 
etc., Antwerp, 1582. The Dutch version seems to have contained 
a few more details. 

27 



15821 The French Protector 419 

The Prince was so completely off his guard that 
the assassin was able to get within very close 
range so that his victim's hair and beard were 
actually singed by the bullet. 1 It was all so 
quick that none knew what had happened, 
Orange least of all. Indeed, he thought that 
a fragment had simply fallen from the ceiling. 
His first breath after the shock was used to say, 
"Do not kill him. I forgive him my death," 
and to the Frenchmen, "What a faithful servant 
his Highness loses in me." 

Then, still on his feet, but unable to walk 
alone, the wounded man was helped to his bed- 
room amid the frightened cries of his children 
and the consternation of the other bystanders 
whose first thought was that another St. Bar- 
tholomew was initiated. Maurice showed extra- 
ordinary self-possession and stood quietly by 
the assassin to make sure that no papers were 
taken away. The first look at the dead man 
showed that his thumb had been blown off in 
the discharge of the pistol, so that he — Jaure- 
guy proved to be his name — had been unable to 
defend himself with the dagger found in his trunk 
hose. Everything discovered upon the man's 
person was given to Maurice, who was then 
persuaded to go to the common room of the 
house, his find sheltered by the cloak of a faithful 

1 Hooft says that the wound was cauterised by the fire and an 
immediate hemorrhage was thus prevented by the proximity 
of the weapon. 



420 William the Silent [1581- 

servant. A cursory examination of the papers 
convinced the young Count that everything 
written was in Spanish and the servant hastened 
back to show the Spanish writing and to exonerate 
the French from the first suspicions of rank treach- 
ery. It had even been thought that the very 
slayer of the assassin was his accomplice. Maurice 
soon returned to the hall, bringing a cross, an 
Agnus Dei, a green wax candle, and two bits of 
toad skin, supposed to be charms, besides the 
packet of papers. These last contained, in 
addition to prayers, vows, and correspondence, 
two letters of credit, — one for 2000 and the other 
for &77 crowns, — with memoranda of advice, all in 
Spanish and by Spaniards. There were a book 
of hours, a Jesuit catechism, and two tablets con- 
taining a detailed account of Jaureguy's plan. 
Gifts were promised to the Virgin Mary, the 
angel Gabriel, and the son of Christ, — even of 
Christus eenen zoon had, remarks Meteren, — for 
intercession with the Almighty in behalf of his 
success. He pledged himself to break his fast 
with nothing but bread and water for a week if 
he escaped alive. Presents to various shrines 
were distinctly specified while magic as well as 
spiritual aid was invoked by a charm which was 
to render the wearer invisible as soon as he had 
wrought the will of God. That Jaureguy con- 
scientiously thought that God willed the Prince's 
death there can be no doubt. His master, who 
instigated the deed was moved by sordid motives. 



1582] The French Protector 421 

There was no delay in communicating the main 
facts to Anjou who showed promptitude in con- 
vening the States council and in issuing a procla- 
mation ordering anyone who had any information 
of any kind to give it up immediately. The whole 
story was thus speedily unravelled and an attack 
on the French was warded off when it was proven 
that the knowledge of this particular attempt on 
the Prince's life was confined to but few people. 
The facts were as follows. Caspar d'Anastro 
was a Spanish merchant living in Antwerp. 
Just on the verge of bankruptcy he was attracted 
by the liberal offers in regard to Orange and signed 
a contract with Philip, pledging himself to work 
the desired end in consideration of 80,000 ducats 
and the cross of Santiago. Access to the Prince's 
presence was very easy, but, naturally, escape with 
a whole skin after the murder was problematical 
and the merchant had no desire to sacrifice his 
own life. He made a confidant of his cashier 
by the name of Venero, who mingled his tears 
with his master's over the financial stress and 
suggested Jean Jaureguy as an excellent tool to 
obtain the large sum so conveniently offered. 

Out of religious zeal or from devotion to his 
master, Jaureguy consented to run the risk. At 
least it seems so, for his own share in the spoil was 
to be only 2877 crowns. A certain Dominican 
monk, Zimmerman, certainly confessed and possi- 
bly absolved him before the deed, which he carried 
through on the 18th. Anastro wisely went to 



422 William the Silent rissi- 

Calais before the date set and thus avoided the 
unpleasant results that befell Venero and Zimmer- 
man upon whom popular indignation fell. 

Venero made full confession and there is some 
doubt whether Zimmerman refused to break the 
faith of the confessional, but both were promptly- 
executed on March 28th, ten days after the crime, 
though saved from the horrible tortures to which 
they might have been subjected by the kindly 
thought of the wounded victim: 

M. de Ste. Aldegonde: 

I have heard that to-morrow they are to do justice 
to the two prisoners, accomplices of the person who 
fired on me. For my part, I would willingly pardon the 
offence against me, but if they have merited rigorous 
punishment, I beg you to ask the magistrates not to 
inflict torture but to be content with a quiet death. 
Your good friend to do you service, 

Wm. of Nassau. 1 

The first grief of the Prince's own family at the 
crime was piteous enough. Charlotte fell into 
one swoon after another, and the children's cries 
were heard all over the house, but wife and daugh- 
ters soon regained the calm that Maurice had 
never lost and devoted themselves to the Prince's 
care. The English Herlle says that two points 
militated against the patient's recovery: that he 
was given to over-eating and had been imprudent 

1 The original of this does not exist. It is thus given in the 
Bref recueil. 



1582] The French Protector 423 

at the dinner table from which he had just risen, 
and that his brain and mind were never at rest. r 
The last was certainly true. He was forbidden 
to talk, lest the wound should open, but he used 
his tablets from the first and wrote message after 
message, calculated to protect the French and to 
keep the public affairs in motion while he was 
invalided. 

The news of his death flew over Europe and 
the belief that Orange had been disposed of for 
good and all was very hard to dislodge. Gran- 
velle was very loath the accept the truth. 

I believe [he writes as late as May 12th] that they 
tried to hide his death for some days and let it be 
bruited about that no one was admitted to his pres- 
ence except his physician. Aldegonde has attached 
himself to the Duke of Anjou, who finds him very 
useful. I wish, considering his devotion to the Prince 
of Orange that he had let himself be buried with 
him as favourite wives are interred with Indian 
princes. However it is, Alencon will find it hard 
work to adapt himself to Hollanders, Zealanders, 
Friesians, Flemings, and Gelderlanders and others 
whose language he does not know. With his slipper 
nose [nez de pantouffles] he will have hard work to win 
the popular favour, possessed by the Prince, who was 
skilled in acting as a boon companion, talking and 
drinking with everyone and cajoling them to his will. 2 

1 Groen, viii., p., 98. 

3 In this letter, as in many others, Granvelle dilates on the 
absurdity of sending Spanish ambassadors around Europe not 
conversant with the various languages. Cor. x,, p. 168. 



424 William the Silent [i58i- 

While the Prince's enemies were rejoicing at the 
end, that had not come, the patient progressed 
towards recovery with some drawbacks. 

Here we have been in great terror [wrote Marie 
of Nassau] thinking my lord must surely die. A 
fortnight after the shooting he had such a bleeding 
from a vein that was slightly grazed, that we gave 
up all hope. The hemorrhage lasted several days. 
He resigned himself to death, and bidding us all good- 
night, said, "It is over with me." 1 

You cannot believe how troubled we were to see 
my lord in such pain, without being able to relieve 
him. 

Never shall I forget that day. But he has been 
saved by a miracle. There has been no hemorrhage 
now for fourteen days, and the doctors and barbers 
think he will be completely restored to health. He 
has to keep perfectly still, and is not allowed to speak 
more than is necessary. That is the reason why 
Philip [Engel, the secretary] has not answered your 
queries. The doctors forbid my lord doing any 
business at present. I wish it were possible for your 
Excellency to see how my lord is changed and emaci- 
ated. There is really nothing on him but skin and 
bones. I hope his flesh will soon come back when 
he begins to eat. 

Up to now he has had no meat; nothing but bread, 
water-soup, and things of that kind, for he cannot 
yet chew easily, but I believe in a day or two he is 
to be allowed to begin to eat and try how it agrees 
with him. In the greatest haste, March 18th. 

1 To Count John, April 18th. Groen, viii., 87. 



1582] The French Protector 425 

Your Excellency's wholly devoted and true daughter 
to the end of my life. 

M. F. v. N. v. O. 

" March i8th," Marie writes, when the date 
should have been a month later. It is as if 
Jaureguy's pistol shot had stopped the dial for the 
Prince's family. The loss of blood from this hem- 
orrhage was terribly serious. Twelve pounds is 
mentioned by van Foreest as what the Prince told 
him. The flow was checked with great difficulty, 
because a bandage tight enough to be effective 
would have choked the invalid. Hooft says that 
a simple and new expedient devised by Anjou's 
own physician, Leonardo Botelli, proved effica- 
cious. The pressure of a broad firm thumb upon 
the vein was found sufficient to check the flow of 
blood, so a succession of attendants relieved each 
other night and day until the hemorrhage ceased 
and the wound closed. * 

Every day now, thank God, finds me her better 
[writes Marie to her uncle]. He has now tried to eat 
a little and it tasted pretty good. Mastication is 
still difficult, but I hope that will come right in time. 
We have reason to be grateful that it has come as 
far as this. I made your Excellency's excuses to 
my lady as your Excellency requested. [It is very 
odd to mark Marie's changes from ''Fatherly uncle" 
to formal titles.] It was not necessary. They never 

1 This story seems so plausible that it is given here, though it 
does not appear in the best authorities. 



426 William the Silent [158I- 

doubted your Excellency's good will and we well 
know how the calamity would have grieved your 
Excellency. I beg your Excellency to forgive my 
bold speaking in my last letter. I could not really 
help it, for it annoyed me a little that we heard 
nothing from your Excellency. As your Excellency 
was away from home and had no opportunity, as 
your Excellency has written me, it was not your 
Excellency's fault, so forgive me that I blamed your 
Excellency wrongfully. z 

It is easy to see that the writer has indeed been 
keenly hurt at her uncle's silence over an event 
that stopped time for her. It is just possible that 
Count John steadfastly refused to believe in the 
alleged French innocence of the attempted crime 
and felt that his brother was simply paying the 
penalty of his headstrong course in a wrong 
direction, — so that he was not too ready with his 
sympathy. That he was grieved admits of no 
doubt. He was not like Anjou, anxious for his 
elder brother's shoes. And whatever the Nassau 
faults were, lack of family affection was not one 
of them. 

On the day after the above letter, Orange was 
able to sign a long epistle to Count John and from 
that date on the proofs of his resumption of 
activity are many. 

Jaureguy's bullet failed thus in its direct aim, 
but it found its victim. Charlotte of Bourbon 
was completely exhausted by her terrible anxiety 

1 Groen, viii., 89. 



1582] The French Protector 427 

and unceasing devotion to her husband and was 
thus in too enfeebled a condition to withstand 
any illness. Just as Orange passed out of danger 
she was attacked by a fever to which she suc- 
cumbed on May 5th. 

What a diversity there was between Charlotte's 
two life experiences ! Yet the first in the convent 
to which she was driven, not called, and the 
executive role of lady abbess that she was forced 
to play, gave her excellent training for the house- 
hold which she administered and for the education 
of the six little daughters she brought into the 
world, with thankfulness for every one. E very- 
word she has left in her clear, forcible handwriting, 
shows complete identification with her husband's 
interests, public and private, and reveals the high 
standard she had set for her wifehood as a pro- 
fession. If Orange had hoped for any political 
advancement from his alliance with the refugee 
abbess, he was doomed to disappointment. The 
dubious French alliance was made through other 
channels, while the loss of German friends caused 
by the Bourbon marriage had certainly been very 
serious. Prudentially then, the Prince's friends 
were right in their apprehensions but from 
a personal point of view Orange had builded 
better than he knew. The marriage was singu- 
larly happy and from the beginning Charlotte 
was a loving and devoted wife, very moderate in 
her demands on life and very grateful for all that 
fell to her lot. With each of the seven years she 



428 William the Silent [1581- 

seems to have assumed a larger part of her hus- 
band's burdens and to have acted as his viceroy 
and agent in a painstaking, intelligent way. 

She left six little girls under seven years old. 
The first had been named Louise Juliana for the 
Duke of Montpensier and her grandmother; the 
second for Queen Elizabeth; the third, born in 

1578, when it was hoped that a reunion of the 
seventeen provinces was still not impossible, 
was called Catherine Belgia, and had the States- 
General and Catherine Schwarzburg, for whom she 
was also named, as her sponsors. On September 
9th, the States- General decreed that an income of 
three thousand pounds a year from the estate of 
Linghen should be paid to their godchild. In 

1579, Charlotte Flandrina was born in Antwerp 
and to her the Estates at Ghent voted an income 
of two thousand florins. x 

The father's ruwardship was acknowledged 
in the name of Charlotte Brabantina, who was 
followed by the sixth baby (1 581), named Emilie 
Antwerpiana, in honour of her birthplace, Ant- 
werp, which presented its godchild's nurses with 
three hundred florins. 

With the Prince's migration from one city to 
another, there was little luxury and less comfort 
for his family as said before. But he was not 
subjected to complaints from this wife. She 
made light of the inconvenient barracks and cold 
lodgings, in which they had to find quarters from 

1 Groen, vii., 333. 



1582] The French Protector 429 

time to time, and found real happiness, — the 
surprised happiness of one who might have missed 
that side of life — in "our big and little girls." 
It was all so much richer than the convent or 
the dependence of the electoral court! She lived 
down the obloquy that had been cast on her for 
her change of faith and of profession and the 
sterling worth of her character was gradually 
but ungrudgingly acknowledged by all the Prince's 
friends who had been filled with consternation 
at the marriage. 

All disparaging rumours about the new companion 
of M. the Prince of Orange . . . must be relegated 
to the rank of calumnies [writes loyal Count John to 
the Landgrave a few months after the marriage so 
dreaded by both]. Every day travellers from Hol- 
land, especially those who have stayed with the 
Prince's noble spouse, bear testimony to her qualities, 
testimony which could not be more favourable, in 
spite of her detractors. To enable you better to 
sound the depths of the odious aspersions I enclose 
a note written by her Grace the princess to Mme. my 
mother. x 

Charlotte's father, too, finally abandoned his 
wrath and readmitted his daughter into his good 
graces 2 before his death. He was quite ready to 
be interested in his namesake, Louise, and to 
accept childish gifts made to establish relations 
between the six-year-old little girl and himself: 

1 Groen, v.,p. 312. Nov. 21, 1575. 

2 By a formal act June 25, 158 1. Delaborde, p. 259. 



430 William the Silent [1581- 

My grandchild: You have achieved no slight 
thing in learning to net at your tender age as I can 
see by the belt of pretty violet silk bordered with 
silver lace which you have sent me. This shows me 
that you are eager to learn and to be a good child 
since you can do so much already. Nothing could 
have pleased me more . . . than to have had your 
first netting work dedicated to me. You could not 
have given it to any one who would have prized it 
more or who loves you better than I, both because 
you are my grandchild and because you are my 
godchild and bear my name. 1 

These were gracious words to the innocent 
child after his anger against her mother ten years 
before. His young wife, too, Catherine of Lor- 
raine, was not backward in claiming the honour 
of being a grandmother. There is a pretty little 
letter of hers to this same Louise expressing 
somewhat pedantic pleasure in the virtues of 
"my grandchild." 

To show you how much I think of you I send you 
a little gift of a phoenix, begging you to accept it 
with as warm a heart as I send it, hoping you will 
take good care of it for love of me. 

Your very affectionate grandmother, 

Catherine de Lorraine. 
From Champigny, July 15, 1581. 

Charlotte's official correspondence with her 
children's sponsors shows her infinite solicitude 

1 Louis de Bourbon to Louise Juliana of Nassau, Jan. 5, 1582. 
Archives of the Due de la Tremoille, Delaborde, p. 291. 



1582] The French Protector 43 1 

for their legal interests and her will made in 1581 
is an interesting document in its careful distri- 
bution of her effects and in its loving memory 
of every one who had been faithful to her. She 
begs the Prince to keep for the children Mme. 
Tontorf, "who has served me for twenty years" 
and thus must have come from Jouarre with her 
mistress. Francois d'Averly, Sr. de Minay, too, 
receives three hundred livres as pension and 
other charges during his life "in recognition of 
the service he rendered me, having accompanied 
me from France to Germany and stayed by me 
for three years at Heidelberg to assist me in my 
affairs." Secretary, tailor, steward, coachman 
and equerry all are remembered each by name in 
addition to the higher officials of the household. 
She was evidently one of those rare women to 
whom every underling was an individual and it 
is easy to believe that the mourning for her loss 
was no perfunctory service. 



CHAPTER XIX 

ANJOU'S FAILURE 
I 582-1 583 

AGAIN it had been due to the one indomitable 
will alone that the Prince's protege was 
carried safely past the dangerous crisis of March 
1 8th for the time being. The suspicion of black 
treachery towards Orange was not easily allayed. 
The vision of a repetition of Coligny's fate was 
vivid and the desire of the Netherland troops to 
fall upon every Frenchman in the city was only 
curbed by the assurance of one of their captains, 
Lion Petit, that he had forced his way into the 
Prince's room and seen him in life with prospect 
of recovery. Then Orange, speechless as he was 
forced to be, made his influence felt through 
Aldegonde without, as long as he lay helpless 
within the house. If ever personal suggestion 
told, it did then, and Anjou was retained in his 
place, though in an atmosphere that was some- 
what chilly. When Orange was on his feet again, 
the installation of the French Prince as Count 
of Flanders took place duly at Bruges, with a 
burst of allegorical joy to assert loudly the perfect 
satisfaction of the Flemings at their new acquisi- 

432 



H582-1583] Anion's Failure 433 

tion. By that time Holland and Zealand had fully 
resolved that they would not follow suit in this 
game of conferring titles. There fervent adherents 
of the Prince were determined that Orange and 
Orange alone should be Count of Holland. 1 

It is amusing to read references to the title 
in the correspondence of Granvelle, Parma, and 
other royalists. It was their opinion that Orange 
systematically sought it by every political machin- 
ation, in which he was an adept. As a matter 
of fact he did not want it, not because he was 
unambitious, but simply because he deemed the 
bestowal of the dignity upon him a disadvantage 
to his larger plans. He was not wholly at one with 
the ideas of his ancient government. Holland 
and Zealand were bent upon furthering their own 
provincial prosperity in commerce and in fishery. 
Orange wanted prosperity for the Netherlands 
united in persistent efforts to gain a commonweal. 2 
He was perfectly willing to see compromises here 
and there, if sacrifices were needed to attain 
that weal, and he was impatient with the reluc- 
tance of the provinces to relinquish some private 

1,4 Although his authority is nowhere so great as with the 
Hollanders and Zealanders, yet many persons think that he will 
have greater difficulty in persuading them to submit to Anjou's 
rule than the rest, " was Hubert Languet's prophecy in writing 
to Philip Sidney, Feb. 27, 1580. 

2 P. L. Muller, De Staat der vereenigde Nederlander in de 
aren zijner wording 1572-Q4: "What Washington did under 
somewhat similar circumstances — the establishment of a federal 
government of semi independent units,— Orange failed in. The 
times were not ripe " is the author's summary. 



434 William the Silent LI 582- 

gain for the public good. The sovereignty of 
Holland and Zealand held temporarily by him in 
1 58 1 could have been made permanent then, had 
he not tenaciously cherished the hope of seeing 
it conferred on Anjou with the rest of the bundle 
of Netherland titles. The two provinces had, 
however, been equally tenacious in accepting 
Anjou only as the sovereign of their allies and 
when, after a little experience, he duly proved 
even less attractive in that capacity than had 
been expected, there was a return to the original 
proposition in the councils of Holland and Zealand ; 
and the decision to confer the title of Count, 
considered to be in abeyance, upon Orange and 
his heirs, was further discussed and met with the 
approval of the majority, though not of all. The 
negotiations were of long duration though inter- 
mittent and secret. After the Prince's recovery 
in 1582, greater pressure was brought to bear 
upon such constituents as were reluctant to give, 
and upon Orange, still more reluctant to take, 
pressure which resulted in his final acceptance 
of the proffered countship of Holland and Zealand 
on August 14, 1582, a month after Anjou's inaugu- 
ration as Count of Flanders and after the latter' s 
acceptance, too, of the additional titles of Duke 
of Guelderland and Lord of Friesland. The fact 
was not, however, immediately made public. 
The offer and its acceptance were mere prelimin- 
aries. So-called letters of Renversal were to be 
drawn up and delivered, a new constitution 
28 



1583] Anjou* s Failure 435 

agreed to, and the formal inauguration celebrated. 
All this hung fire during 1583. 1 Possibly Orange 
was still hoping to divert the title towards Anjou, 
to prevent the fragmentary character of the 
political status of the French "protector." 

The fashion in which the European world 
received a great reform movement, of universal 
interest but bearing the papal seal, in this year 
of 1582, showed how all events were still shad- 
owed by the theological differences of the time 
and how slow the shadow was to move on. For 
a long period the year's seasons had been seriously 

x In the spring of 1583 there was fresh agitation and resultant 
action. On March 26th, the formal act of recommendation 
was passed by the Estates of Holland and on April 5th was en- 
trusted to a committee consisting of Sr. van Boetzelaar van 
Asperen, the advocate Buys, and Dr. Francois Maelson to have 
the seals of the cities set thereon. This act comprises simply 
the recommendation and the reasons, without stating the condi- 
tions stipulated later. It was sealed in the name of three nobles 
and by the secretaries of twenty-five cities, representing all re- 
maining places in Holland. One copy was given to the Prince, 
one was preserved in the state archives. Nothing remained but 
the fulfilment of the conditions and the formal exchange of oaths. 
The circumstances were quite different from those obtaining in 
1576. Before it had been delegated, now it was sovereign, 
authority offered, limited by the States. His successor was to be 
chosen from the Prince's legitimate male heirs. This clause was 
intended to exclude Philip William. 

There were numerous hindrances to the completion of the 
affair. Kluit says the chief were fear of France and of Anjou and 
the suspicion of the other provinces. Holland was anxious to 
take no step without Zealand. Middelburg, Gouda, and Amster- 
dam made difficulties of one kind and another, fearing lest their 
private privileges, their particular commerce, etc., might be jeop- 
ardised. Kluit, i., p. 287; Muller, p. 312. 



436 William the Silent [1582- 

out of gear. The several minutes of excess of 
the Julian calendar over the solar year existing 
from the inauguration of that calendar had 
amounted to a discrepancy of ten days between 
the two by the sixteenth century. Pope Gregory 
XIII., accordingly, finally ordered the enforcement 
of an edict of the Council of Trent and issued a 
mandate that ten days should be omitted arbi- 
trarily from 1582, so as to bring the two years 
into harmony. After October 4th, October 15th 
was to be written, and Easter and other festivals 
thereby restored to their wonted seasons. It 
was further provided that 1700, 1800, 1900 
should be leap years, but not 2000, to avoid the 
recurrence of the error. 

Protestant nations were not inclined to obey 
the mandate, because it emanated from Rome. 
Holland and Zealand, possibly because they were 
for the moment in close affiliation with Anjou, 
agreed to accept the alteration and thus they were 
grouped with France and other Catholic lands 
that made the change, instead of with England, 
which adhered to the old style until the eighteenth 
century. Flanders, Brabant, Artois, Hainault, 
Holland, and Zealand celebrated Christmas after 
December 15th; Guelderland, Zutphen, Utrecht, 
Overyssel, Friesland, Groningen, and others ad- 
hering to the "old style" for another long period, 
as Russia does to this day. 1 

ir rhe acceptance in 1583 by Protestant Holland aroused some 
indignation among Protestant neighbours. Landgrave William 




ANJOU MEDAL 




ANJOU S TREACHERY 



1583] Anjou's Failure 437 

In spite of the Prince's personal success in 
propping up Anjou and in persuading the people 
to obey him, he did not succeed in making him 
happy. The young Frenchman strained im- 
patiently at his leash and felt hampered and re- 
stricted in his authority. He was thoroughly 
miserable in the midst of the people who had 
welcomed him as a saviour. His English fiancee 
took upon herself to call Orange seriously to task 
for the shortcomings of the Netherlands. They 
had no right to invite an honourable lord to 
their shores and then to leave him ill paid and 
forced into a secondary part. "Take care that 
Monsieur is not driven too far/' was her conclud- 
ing warning. There were people at hand in An- 
jou's suite ready to assure him that his treatment 
was already far beyond bounds. x They harped on 
the fact that he was unceasingly playing second 
fiddle in the state orchestra, as ill befitted a son 
of France. 



writes a characteristic letter to the electors of Saxony and the 
Palatinate, protesting about the proposition, most inconvenient 
to farmers accustomed to plant by the festivals "as they now 
are" and to pay their rents on the appointed time. He counts 
the Gregorian ordinance as a piece of "papal politics" that should 
be completely ignored by all good Christians. It may be noted 
that owing to Holland's early change in style, New York, as 
New Netherland, was the first American colony to adopt it. 
The Dutch style was abandoned when the colony passed to the 
English in 1664, resumed in 1673, and abandoned again in 1674. 
1 "Orange gouverne tout, Sainte-Aldegonde conseille tout en 
attendant que tout soit emporte par le diable," was the French 
version of a doggerel sung in the street. 



43 8 William the Silent H582- 

Why go on taking a little meagre authority, meted 
out by these purse - proud burghers, and sharing, 
moreover, that modicum with the Prince of Orange ? 
Assert your rights at one bold stroke. Make your- 
self master of Flanders. France is at your back. 

Anjou had neither an inherited nor an acquired 
distaste for treachery. The arguments fell 
pleasantly on his ear and he made his arrange- 
ments accordingly. 

In January, 1583, in the seclusion of his bed- 
chamber, after he had retired for the night, 
Anjou recounted the tale of his grievances to 
his confidential friends and declared that only 
two courses were open to him, — to leave these 
ungrateful and parsimonious Flemings to their 
own devices, or to show them once for all that 
he was a man of mettle. He had decided on the 
latter. He proposed that Dunkerque, Dixmude, 
Termonde, Bruges, Ghent, Vilvoorden, Alost, and 
other important places should be seized simul- 
taneously by his trusty French troops, sent thither 
to quell tumults that could be purposely excited. 
He himself would take measures to assure himself 
of Antwerp. The project was highly approved 
by those in whom he confided, as he was very 
careful in his choice, and Frenchmen known to 
be devoted to Orange had been sent away on 
various pretexts. Later, some of those present 
disclaimed knowledge of the plans. 

The Marshal de Biron [according to Bentivoglio], 



1583] Anjou 7 s Failure 439 

was among the confederates. Bor says that he 
approved the work in hand but his daughter told 
me that her father took in no more than a pinch of 
it and assured the Prince of Orange that Monsieur 
cooked the project so secretly that no odour was 
wafted abroad. 1 

When his friends evinced full sympathy with 
his plan, Anjou leaped from his bed, unclad as he 
was, and knelt down to implore God's blessing 
on his enterprise, designed to avenge insults to 
the Church as well as to himself. 

The unsavoury plot was not, however, wholly 
unsuspected. Distrust and uneasiness tainted the 
air. The captain of the guard felt their presence 
sufficiently to warn Orange, who reassured him by 
his own confidence in the protector's good faith, 
though he agreed to precautionary measures, usual 
under fear of an attack. At the same time, the 
Prince made a display of his own confidence in 
Anjou by sending the burgomaster to inform him 
of the accusation, and Anjou promptly despatched 
a private message on the evening of the 16th, 
protesting that he would die for Antwerp, but 
injure it never. 

Orange was in the habit of saving his strength 
by staying in bed late in the mornings, often 
disposing of certain business before rising. The 
early hour of seclusion in his room had another 
advantage, that of affording a time for confidential 

f Hooft, p. 184. 



44° William the Silent [1582- 

conversation. He was still in this retirement 
when Anjou sought him, on the 17th, ready to act 
out the part of injured innocence. Orange seems 
to have accepted his assurances, but at the same 
time he refused to go with the Duke to a review 
of the troops outside the city walls and strongly 
advised him not to leave Antwerp that day. An 
hour or two later, Orange accompanied the city 
officials to wait upon Anjou in formal ceremony. 
That interchange of intimate and ceremonious 
morning visits was the last personal intercourse 
between the two men. They never looked on 
each other's face again. Orange returned to 
his own dwelling on the other side of Antwerp, 
and Anjou sat down to his noonday dinner. While 
at the table, a letter was delivered to him which 
agitated him greatly. He read it, and stuck it in a 
little muff that he carried on his arm. Then he 
left the table, ordered horses, mounted, and, after 
exchanging steeds, as the first brought to him 
seemed restless, he rode off out of the Kip dorp gate, 
followed by two hundred men. As he crossed the 
drawbridge the Duke waved his hand to the troops, 
saying "There is your city. Go and take pos- 
session of it. " This was between twelve and one 
o'clock and the burghers were at dinner when the 
cries of " Tue, Tue! Vive le due oV Anjou! Vive la 
messe!" rang through the streets. 

The aroused burghers were totally unprepared; 
but they did not lose their heads, and made a good 
fight with any and every missile that came to their 



1583J Anjou's Failure 441 

hands. From the roof tops they hurled tiles, 
from the windows heavy furniture, etc., to such 
good purpose that a large number of the foe 
(exactly 1583 of them according to Hooft) lost 
their lives. It was a mad turmoil, while the fray 
lasted. The citizens for once all worked to- 
gether. "Rich, poor, young, and old displayed 
an equal zeal. Beggar, Papist, Lutheran, were 
forgotten names." 

"Do not shoot,, burghers," cried Orange, when 
he arrived on the scene of action, somewhat late, — 
"It is simply a misunderstanding." Perhaps it 
was as well that victory was practically gained 
before he came, for the burghers were probably 
not in the vein to rate this patent assault upon 
their town, with its evident treacherous intent, 
as a simple "misunderstanding." The attempt 
failed of its object. In this so-called French 
Fury, the burghers, looking to their own defence, 
fought far more effectively than had the mer- 
cenaries in repulsing the Spanish Fury of seven 
years previously. Moreover, the very self-confi- 
dence of the French was their undoing in the face 
of the unexpected and obstinate resistance they 
encountered. 

Anjou, disappointed and baffled, betook himself 
to Termonde with his troops, losing a good many 
on the way from an overflow near Mechlin where 
a dyke had been cut to impede him. His first 
letters, dated from Termonde, January 17th, are 
marvellously audacious. To Orange he stated 



44 2 William the Silent [1582- 

that the events of the day were caused by the 
indignities he had suffered and he begs the Prince 
to see that no harm came to his people. At the 
same time, he wrote in a high-handed way to 
the States-General, and sent two gentlemen to 
the magistrates and colonels to " explain every- 
thing." He even requested that his furniture 
and clothes should be forwarded, prisoners sur- 
rendered, and supplies furnished for his men. 
Further he intimated that, ill-requited as he had 
been for his loving kindness to the oppressed 
Flemings, still he might forgive and forget! * 

You will have heard the result of Alencon's [Anjou] 
augustly offered help [wrote the Landgrave, January 
2ist, o. s.]. The people there had better look sharp 
and not let their mouths be smeared with honey. 
It can be seen clearer than the sun [clarius sole] from 
this transaction that, no matter what is said, the 
intention is to uproot religion. You have often 
heard me say that I could not wonder enough at the 
prince's course in entrusting the defence of this same 
religion to the enemy, in commending the lambs to 
the wolves. I never expected any good result. 2 

In Germany this most natural dictum was echoed 
from mouth to mouth, while Elizabeth of England 
and Catherine de' Medici were inclined to opposite 
views. "I do not know what the immediate 
cause was [wrote the former], but I do remember 

1 Bor, iii., p. 344, etc. 2 Groen, viii., p. 141. 



1583] Anjou's Failure 443 

that Monsieur has often complained to me about 
the wrongs and indignities he has suffered. " z 

Catherine assured the Prince that she sus- 
pended judgment until she had further details of 
the occurrence, for she could not believe Orange 
guilty of the base ingratitude that appeared on the 
surface. 2 

Orange answered Elizabeth that full reports 
had already been sent to her. "On which 
testimony, Madame, I do not doubt that you will 
be able to judge fairly who deserves blame and who 
not. . . . " 3 And his conclusion implies that 
extraction from the confusion in which they are 
involved is almost beyond human aid, with which 
words he remains the Queen's humble servant. 
Catherine's letter was acknowledged in dryer 
terms with the assurance that the Prince would 
have believed no testimony but that of his own 
eyes in regard to the tragic events. 4 

It is evident that Orange understands the 
character of the Valois perfectly, yet he stead- 
fastly refuses to repudiate the whole clan once 
for all, with the contempt deserved by Anjou's 
shameless treachery. When the magistrates and 
military officers of Antwerp pressed him for a 
definite recommendation of future policy he an- 
swered that he was reluctant to express his opinion, 
ill equipped for action as he was, and then he 
proceeded to rehearse the story of Anjou's rela- 

^roen viii., 142. 3 Ibid., p. 147. 

3 Ibid., p. 157. 4 Ibid., p. 158. 



444 William the Silent [1582- 

tion to the States -General, acknowledging that 
all agreements were virtually annulled by his 
duplicity. 1 Three courses were open to the 
Netherlands: (i) reconciliation with Philip; 
(2) dependence on themselves; (3) reconciliation 
with Anjou. The first was incompatible with the 
preservation of the reformed religion. The second 
seemed to him also impracticable, from their 
lack of funds, lack of central power, of central 
interest, of central responsibility. Each province 
was intent on local self-interest rather than on the 
common weal. To his mind, therefore, the last 
course was the sole one to adopt. "With France 
to back him, Anjou is our best and only hope." 2 

The advice could not be other than unpopular. 
Every one felt capable of judging for himself. In 
his first letter, Anjou had at least acknowledged 
that he had tried a coup d 1 Stat, but alleged that 
his action was necessary to save him from being 
"a Matthias," so unworthy was the treatment 
accorded him. After a little, however, his tone 
changed, and became more high-handed and 
more insolent in the mendacious assertions that 
the whole disturbance had been accidental and 
due to the insubordination of his troops. 3 

The Prince's persistent advocacy of reconcil- 
iation with this patently unreliable protector 

1 Groen, viii., p. 149. Cor., v., p. 95. 

2 Ibid., p. 202. This is not the speech but an outline of the 
arguments. 

3 Bor., iii., p. 348. Letter to Henry III. 



1583] Anjou 1 s Failure 445 

brought down a shower of abuse on himself. One 
pamphlet declares him to be corrupt, ambitious, 
self-seeking. 1 The old forged letter to Anjou, 
long since disproved as emanating from Orange, is 
laid to his charge afresh. He was an atheist, 
having characterised religion as een curieuse en 
subtyle sake, etc. His speech to the magistrates 
and others was promptly printed with a bitter 
commentary added thereto and circulated widely. 2 

No wonder that the negotiations that followed 
were spiritless and dreary. The hesitating con- 
fidence in the French alliance had, primarily, only 
been coaxed into existence by the Prince's efforts. 
The second reconciliation was a mere mirage 
above a quicksand where no one could step 
without being clogged by the mire. 

In the hot outburst of indignation, the title 
of Duke of Brabant was considered again vacant 
and offered to Orange, as that of Count of Holland 
had already been. He declined it, bound as he 
was to restore Anjou to that dignity. 

"Thank God that he inspires you to reconcile 
me and the States happily. I trust with His aid 
this compact will endure for ever. Certainly 
there will be no breach of faith on my part. " 2 So 
wrote Anjou to Orange in recognition of a new 
provisional arrangement, signed between him and 
the States-General, March 26th and 28th. 

1 Hague Pamphlets, 648. Claer Bewij's dat de Prins van 
Orangien, etc. Printed at Cologne, Feb., 1583. Ibid., 663. 

2 Cor., v., 123. 



446 William the Silent [1582- 

Anjou was to deliver up the towns he held, 
to receive thirty thousand florins for his troops, 
and to wait at Dunkerque for the "perpetual" 
treaty to be arranged later. The other articles 
in the March pact are not worth considering, 
because they proved empty words. Anjou never 
again set foot within the Netherlands. 

In the midst of this most unsatisfactory state 
of affairs, Orange entered upon his fourth matri- 
monial venture. That his bride was French was 
a fact that militated against him in popular 
estimation. But in other respects she was an 
eminently suitable partie for the leader of a 
Protestant revolt, a far more suitable friend than 
any Bourbon or Valois. It was Louise de Coligny, 
daughter of the late admiral and widow of young 
Charles de Teligny, 1 who had fallen a victim on 
the same St. Bartholomew night which had seen 
Coligny's death. At seventeen the young Hugue- 
not girl had been thus bereft of husband and 
father in a single night. 

The incidents of her own escape from destruc- 
tion are unknown, but it was effected as well as 
that of her young step-mother Jacqueline de 
Montbel, who had been married to Admiral 
Coligny on the same day that Louise became 
Teligny's wife. The two fled to Switzerland, 
where the admiral's posthumous child, Beatrice, 
was born in December. Then came years of 

1 At an earlier date this same Teligny had acted as messenger 
to Charlotte de Bourbon at Jouarre from Jeanne d'Albret. 




LOUISE DE COLIQNY, PRINCESS OF ORANGE. 
(Based on an old engraving.) 



15831 Anjou's Failure 447 

poverty, for the Coligny property as well as the 
private estates of the two widows were confiscated. 
Greater misfortune, too, was in store for Jacque- 
line. She was accused of sorcery, magic and 
compacts with the devil and thrown into prison, 
where she spent many years. In August, 1576, 
Louise accompanied her brother Andelot back 
to France and was reinstated in a portion of 
Teligny's estate, Lierville in Beauce being re- 
turned to her. There she established herself 
and lived quietly with little known record of her 
adventures for five or six years. 

It is strange [says Brant6me] how Mme. de Teligny 
has taken on grace and agreeable manners in that 
rude and barbarous land of Switzerland. The world 
is wondering how countries so hard, so rural, and so 
rough could have turned out ladies as accomplished 
and cultivated as in other lands, so sweet, courteous, 
and good. But it must be remembered that the 
foundation of Louise's education was in France and 
first impressions are the important ones. 

In her youthful days when hope ran high in 
the Huguenot camps Louise had known Louis of 
Nassau. He had been one of the intimates of 
the family circle and had witnessed the two 
marriages of 1571. Whether the young girl had 
ever seen Orange is uncertain. If a meeting took 
place it must have been between 1568 and 1572, 
during the four years preceding the massacre, 
when Louise was a mere child. In 1583, she was 



448 William the Silent ti58i- 

a fine young woman whose twenty-nine years with 
their discipline of misfortune were sufficiently 
suited to the Prince's fifty, and whose sympathies, 
hereditary and individual, were naturally in 
close touch with the religious side of the cause 
Orange was espousing, though probably she was 
more fervent in her point of view than he. The 
negotiations for the alliance were made, as men- 
tioned in the announcement to the Estates of 
Holland, before the January deed had thrown fresh 
suspicion upon everything French. Orange was 
not the man, however, to be turned from a purpose 
by a wave of feeling that might have swept sub- 
sidiary events into the same category as the main 
issue. He proceeded calmly with his private al- 
liance, as already arranged. On April 7th, Louise 
de Coligny arrived in Zealand, on the nth at Ant- 
werp, where she was quietly married to the Prince 
on the following day and the event was publicly 
honoured by salutes of cannon and ringing of bells. 
"You will have heard, Monsieur, how his 
Highness made an accord with the States and 
how my father married Madame de Teligny on 
the 1 2th instant." 1 Such were the laconic words 
with which Maurice mentions the family event 
to his Uncle John, to whom later the bride sends 
the following note by his secretary, Philip Engel: 

I hasten to assure you how honoured I feel that 
God put it into the heart of Monseigneur the Prince 

1 Groen, viii., p. 189. 



1583J Anjou's Failure 449 

to take me for his companion; I recognise, too, his 
further favour in giving me as kin so many noble 
lords who cherish the fear of God, among whom you, 
monsieur, hold the first rank. 1 

Antwerp had offered public honours on the 
marriage but the Prince was no longer popular 
in the city. The people could not understand 
his motives in endeavouring to reinstate Anjou 
in the authority he had misused to their personal 
injury. They counted all the French promises 
as too fragile for handling. In July a disturbance 
took place on some side issue, just as Orange 
was leaving Antwerp. An angry crowd with its 
suspicions easily excited rushed to the gate and 
forced him back with the cry, "Traitor, he is 
bound to deliver Antwerp to the French/ ' A few 
days later there was a report that he was about 
to fortify himself within the citadel. The mob 
threatened to attack his person and were only 
calmed with difficulty. The timid magistrates 
were afraid to punish the offenders, easily identi- 
fied though they were, and this official failure to 
count his interests and his integrity one with those 
of the government wounded Orange deeply. 

He was just then preparing to go to Middelburg 
to meet the States-General in session. After the 
disturbance he hastened his departure and left 
Antwerp on July 22 d, not to return there again 
for residence. He felt Holland to be more friendly 

*Groen, viii., p. 228. 

29 , „ 



450 William the Silent [1582- 

than Brabant and he established his family at 
Delft in the old convent of Ste. Agathe, whose 
name is lost in that of the Prinsenhof. Louise 
Coligny found her first land journey in her 
adopted country a trying experience. 

She told my father [says Aubery du Maurier] 
that she was greatly surprised at the difference 
between French and Holland customs. She was 
placed in an open waggon instead of a carriage, with 
no seat but a board, and in the short distance between 
Rotterdam and Delft she was almost shaken to 
pieces. x 

Just one year was left to the Prince to rest at 
this stage of his life journey, a year important 
for his descendants, however, for there in Delft, 
at the Prinsenhof, was born his twelfth child and 
third boy, Frederick Henry, who alone of his 
three sons left heirs to the Nassau name. The 
Protestant kings of Denmark and Navarre were 
sponsors for the child, together with the Estates 
of Holland, Zealand, and Utrecht. Represen- 
tatives of the Queen of England were there, and 
the baptism was a notable international Protestant 
event. Indeed there seems to have been a return 
to the Prince's ancient lavishness in the arrange- 
ments, for one minister at Leiden felt called upon 
to rebuke from his pulpit the extravagance of the 
banquet. The occasion was, moreover, utilised 
for political discussion. " Under shadow of taking 

1 Memoir es, p. 286. 



1583] Anjou 1 s Failure 45 i 

part in his son's baptism, he summoned me from 
Antwerp [says Ste. Aldegonde, then burgomaster 
of that city] and opened his heart confidentially.' ' r 

After this conference, Aldegonde was left con- 
vinced that Orange was indeed working stead- 
fastly for what he believed to be the best interest 
of the Reformed Church and he took to heart his 
warning that Antwerp was in imminent danger 
from Parma's advances. Another year and the 
fall of the Brabant seaport showed the clearness 
of the Prince's prevision. But he was no longer 
living to see his prediction verified. 

His patient, unaided efforts, unsympathised with 
by friend and foe alike, to hold fast to the French 
alliance were finally ended by the death of Anjou 
on June 10th. During the last four months of his 
life the Duke proved his unworthiness still further 
by entering into negotiations with Parma, as re- 
vealed later. Anjou had not the slightest concep- 
tion of integrity, truth, or justice, and his mind, 
like his person, was corrupt and contaminated. In 
his case the suspicions of poison, usual in regard 
to every death, were natural enough, so wretch- 
edly diseased was his body, sweating blood at 
every pore, but the suspicion does not seem to 
have been substantiated. Valois life was cor- 
rupted from its birth. 

The event was decisive, but before its actual 
occurrence Orange had so far accepted the situa- 
tion that he began to press for the completion 

1 Groen, viii., p. 405. 



452 William the Silent H582- 

of the bestowal of the Count ship of Holland upon 
himself. He thought it due to his own dignity 
that his acceptance of the title which the Estates 
had urged upon him at their own initiative 
should be sealed legally. 

Early in July he presented the following me- 
moir 1 to the States of Holland: 

Gentlemen: We must remind you, that you, to- 
gether with the people of Zealand, voluntarily gave 
us certain acts declaring that you took us for your 
count and lord, and upon such terms as might be 
arranged . . . the same act being dated March 
29, 1580. Some time afterwards, in the month of 
August, 1582, you were pleased to send certain 
deputies to us at Bruges, expressly to urge us to make 
an end of the affair, and asking us to state the con- 
ditions upon which we would accept the dignity. 
After you had seen the said conditions stated in 

articles, you wrote to us the of , '83 [sic] 

that you approved them. Since then you have 
written to all the provinces which remain united, 
advising them of your resolution to make us your 
count and lord. In last December, you, before an 
assembly of all the States, presented to us the letters 
of acceptance that you had received from our person, 
duly sealed with the city's seals, together with the 
articles you had agreed upon, which had been signed 
by all the cities except Amsterdam and Ter-Goes. 

1 Groen, Archives, viii., 428. On the margin is written: 
"Presented by his Excellency to the States of Holland, in the 
beginning of July, 1584." Groen says this document is not in 
the Holland register. 



15831 Anjou's Failure 453 

This matter has been discussed so often in the 
States of Holland and also in the private assemblies 
of the cities, and imparted to the other provinces, that 
it cannot remain hidden or secret. 1 It is not only 
public property in these lands, but there is no king- 
dom or country in Christendom where it has not 
been discussed. As it is patent how long the affair 
drags on, every one has the right to draw his own 
conclusion, as each will do, according to his sym- 
pathies. And as it behooves you and us to heed the 
common weal above all, public honour ought to be 
cherished. Nevertheless, you cannot be ignorant 
of the fact that opportunity is given to people to 
gossip about it. 

If the affairs of the land were well conducted mean- 
while, this inconvenience might be borne, but you 
know that the contrary is the case and that uncer- 
tainty in all quarters of this republic causes a con- 
fusion, or great imperfection in many things, as 
reformation in all directions is postponed until 
affairs are on a fixed basis. People talk and act 
without restraint, with no fear of punishment, and 
if we, having as little authority as we have, should 
arrest any one in the course of justice, we should be 
criticised at once, as though we were acting privately 
and not in behalf of the whole land and republic. 

All these considerations move us, gentlemen, to 
beg you in a friendly manner, to terminate this 
business and help us to uphold our honour and repu- 
tation, as well as to help you to establish all affairs 
in such a state and order that the land and republic 
may be thereby benefited. While you delay your 

1 The first offer was secret. 



454 William the Silent [1582-15833 

resolution about the formal inauguration, see to it, 
above all, that some temporary steps are taken, so 
that these annoyances may be obviated. . . . 

Meanwhile, awaiting the solemnisation of the af- 
fair and the decision of Zealand, may it please you 
to determine what title we shall use in letters and 
ordinances, and also what seal in despatches, so 
that all the business of the land may be expedited. 

In spite of the fact that matters had been 
pushed so far and that the publicity justified 
the Prince's remonstrance at the delay in com- 
pleting the gift, objections continued to be put 
forward. The most vehement protest was made 
as late as June, 1584, before the council of Amster- 
sterdam, by C. P. Hooft, the father of the his- 
torian. He argued that no advantage was to be 
gained from the action and that this individual 
action of Holland was an infringement of the 
11 Union of Utrecht." His opposition was, how- 
ever, not well received by his fellow councillors 
and there is little doubt that the Prince's remon- 
strances would have borne fruit had there only 
been time. Coins were actually prepared (at 
least so says Strada) with the inscription Nova 
moneta comitis Hollandice ac Zelandice. But the 
day of inauguration never dawned. 



CHAPTER XX 

THE ASSASSINATION 
1584 

WHILE the title of Count of Holland hung 
in the air over the Prince's head a motley 
crew of zealots and outlaws followed in Jean 
Jaureguy's wake, with more or less uncertain 
step. The summary justice dealt out to the 
unsuccessful assassin was sufficient to divert the 
second class from their purpose when they came 
in close range of the dangers which would inevit- 
ably threaten their own life and limb and in all 
probability leave them no time to enjoy the 
reward even if they won it. 1 Parma was beset 

1 In the midst of the inauguration of Anjou as Count of Flan- 
ders at Bruges, one plot had been unmasked, directed against 
that "protector" as well as the Prince of Orange, in which young 
Lamoral d'Egmont was shamefully implicated. Orange had 
been very kind to him, not needing the mother's dying injunction 
to take an interest in the son of his unfortunate friend, and his 
kindness was ill requited, if the accusation were true that Egmont 
had meant to poison him at his own table. The young man was 
allowed to escape to France. His elder brother had gone over 
to Parma in 1580. Wreede Turkshe wonderlycke verhaalinge van 
dit letste verraet tegen Ducks Dangu en tegen den edelen P. v. 
Orangtien. Leiden, 1582. The brochure contains two letters, 
July 25th and 27th. 

455 



456 William the Silent [15841 

by many candidates for blood money and he did 
not always find it an easy task to distinguish the 
real rogue from the false. For instance in April, 
1584, a certain Frenchman, Get or Gott, was taken 
prisoner by one of the Duke's captains, Roubaix. 
Though Get offered to pay high in service for his 
freedom, the various pieces of treachery suggested 
as the price to him did not seem feasible. Then 
Roubaix asked whether he could not make way 
with the Prince of Orange. Yes, indeed. That 
was perhaps within his power. He had pecu- 
liar facilities for the task, being intimate with 
one of his stewards and having free access to 
the kitchen; he might try his hand at poisoning 
the Prince's food. Roubaix was rather incredu- 
lous as to whether either intimacy or presence in 
the kitchen were sufficient to ensure the right 
cup reaching the right lips. Then Get explained 
to him how a certain little pot often stood on the 
fire, filled with eel soup for the Prince's own con- 
sumption. The cover was perforated to allow 
the emission of steam. The inference was clear 
and Roubaix took the bait. But first, he asked 
the man's motives. Get's answer was that the 
French were so out of favour in Flanders that it 
was almost impossible for one of his nationality to 
pick up a living. He was poor and Philip's high 
reward would suit his circumstances excellently. x 

1 Cor., vi., p. 121, etc. Lett re du marquis de Roubaix au 
prince de Parme. Much of the story of the murder is con- 
tained in this volume vi. 



[1584 The Assassination 457 

The story as reported did not carry conviction 
to the Duke of Parma, but he bade Roubaix re- 
lease his prisoner, if he thought best, and take the 
chances that good might be done. Get hastened 
straightway to Orange and boasted that he had 
refused to play him false. And thus lies passed 
back and forth. 

At last a true zealot came on the scene, im- 
pelled to action by other motives than the hope 
of the reward and not easily paralysed by fear 
for his own safety. He was a man of twenty-eight, 
and possessed of some education, but a poor, 
wretched looking piece of humanity to cherish 
the purpose of ridding earth of the Prince of 
Orange by his own hand. Occasionally an 
inordinate vanity is allied to an insignificant 
personality and so it was in the case of this 
Balthasar Gerard. As he crept about, unheeded 
wherever he was, he loved to think that he was 
going to prove himself a giant of action to the 
big self-sufficient brutes who paid him no more 
attention than is given to a small garter snake, 
deemed innocuous, as it crosses a path. 

Delft was not indeed an Eden in the early sum- 
mer of 1584, when this creature wormed his way 
into the Prince's little court, established there in 
the roomy old convent on the canal ; but the domain 
was a pleasant, quiet spot, peacefully removed 
by water and a street from the bustle of the great 
market place. Under the roof, were gathered 
almost enough women to people the ancient 



458 William the Silent H584] 

cloister. There were the Prince's sister, the 
Countess of Schwarzburg, Marie and Anne of 
Nassau, his elder, and the five small girls, his 
younger daughters, in addition to Louise de 
Coligny and her baby. Four other children were 
in as many different places. The elder sons were 
university students, one in Spain and one at 
Leiden, the thirteen-year-old Emilie had never 
left the friendly shelter of Dillenburg, and one 
of Charlotte's daughters was under the charge 
of her grandfather, the Duke of Montpensier. 

The early summer weeks of 1584 seem to have 
been a time when Orange was simply pausing 
until the countship was settled. As he waited, 
there were anxieties enough to occupy his thoughts. 
They were plain to view. That he foresaw Ant- 
werp's capture showed no miraculous second sight. 
Even the jokers of the day were already predicting 
it. "Antwerp is to let from the Michaelmas 
term, " was a sign posted up at Lierre. In regard 
to that city, the trouble was from without. At 
Ghent it was the internal seething of the burghers 
that threatened to boil over. 

. . . We have had reliable information that 
certain Ghenters are in treaty with the Prince of 
Parma. I only wish that your theologians would 
explain the conscience of people ready to abandon 
their brethren. ... I hear that Dathenus is one of 
the councillors in this most honourable capitulation. 

A touch of bitterness is evident in these words 



[1584] The Assassination 459 

written by Orange to his brother in March. J The 
main part of his letter is devoted to a discussion 
of a pamphlet intended to affect public opinion 
and prevent any further appeal to France. 

The author spends much time in contrasting the 
ample resources of the King of Spain with my scanty 
power and in describing the doubtful outcome of the 
war, the uncertainty of the popular will, etc. Then 
he proceeds to touch on the ill opinion that some 
of the reformed have conceived of me, because of the 
treaty with the French, and of the slight confidence 
there is in any friendship with them, their past 
faults, the meagre resources of the Duke of Anjou, 
the improbability of the [French] king letting himself 
be involved in a war against so grand a monarch. 
Finally he attacks our House. . . . As to my honour, 
I may, in speaking to my brother, express myself 
more strongly than to a stranger. Is there any human 
being who has . . . worked more, suffered more, 
lost more than I in trying to plant, advance, and 
maintain the churches? 

Then he recapitulates the old arguments in fa- 
vour of the alliance with Anjou, an alliance which 
destiny itself had severed, as already said. And by 
that time the Prince's own days were numbered. 

It was early one July morning, when certain 
official letters from France, containing despatches 
relating to Anjou's death, arrived at the gate of 
the Prinsenhof in Delft and were immediately 

1 Groen, viii., p. 339. 



460 William the Silent ti584] 

delivered to Orange. He ordered the messenger 
brought at once to his bedside, that he might 
gather further details from his lips. Such com- 
plete careless trustfulness was wholly unexpected 
by the man, not a mere messenger, but a fanatic, 
the above-mentioned Balthasar Gerard, whose life 
was dedicated to the Prince's death. The man 
was simply overwhelmed with regret that he had 
no dagger convenient to his hand at such a 
wonderfully opportune occasion for the execution 
of his scheme. Meanwhile, Orange, absorbed 
in his news, lay there in bed, unprotected and 
totally unsuspecting that his humble visitor was 
harbouring murderous thoughts at the very mo- 
ment when he stood before him, hot from his ride, 
cringing and respectful in his answers. It was not 
his first appearance at Delft and Orange was 
confident that he knew all that was necessary 
about the man to make him safe to have under 
his roof. He was a poor, persecuted Calvinist 
from the Franche-Comte in whom the Prince 
had been interested a few weeks previously. 1 

At the beginning of May the Prince's confiden- 
tial secretary Villiers had counselled him to receive 
a letter from this stranger, in which he humbly 
offered his service to the Prince, so that he "might 
remain where he could worship God without 

x The details of the story are taken from Gerard's confession, 
his answers under torture, the Relation officielle, letter of the 
Burgomaster Aerssens and other letters. See Cor., vi., and De 
Moord van 1584. The Hague, 1884. 



[1584] The Assassination 461 

• 

fear of death" and begged that some one be 

deputed to hear his story. Orange delayed giv- 
ing further attention to the request for a time, but 
at last, wearied by the petitioner's importunity, 
he bade Villiers examine him. Gerard was ready 
with his tale, carefully fabricated with extraor- 
dinary dramatic ability and careful attention 
to local colour. It was as follows: He was one 
Frangois Guion, native of Besancon. His parents 
had been driven into exile from their little home 
on the bridge, because they were Huguenots, 
and when they had ventured to return to Besancon 
on the rumour of better times, they had met their 
death in company with brethren of the Faith in 
June, 1575. He, Francois, had continued to 
cherish the true religion, but insults from the 
papists induced him to seek a refuge where he 
could be free to follow the dictates of his con- 
science. In 1582 he had arrived in Luxemburg 
on his way to the Prince of Orange, but could 
not proceed further on account of poverty and ill 
health. Then he took service with one Dupre, 
his cousin, secretary to the Count Mansfeld, 
royalist Governor of Luxemburg. "But as it was 
very difficult to please the Lord with secret 
service, I feared I would fall under divine wrath. 
Therefore I left my master, after having taken 
copies of the said Count's seals in red wax." 

A certain priest had suspected him of laxity 
in the observance of Catholic rites. To escape 
him he had tried to go to Treves under pretence 



462 William the Silent ti584i 

• 
of taking communion at Easter. The priest fol- 
lowed him and in self-defence Gerard had slain 
him and then fled to Holland for safety. He was 
in a position to render valuable service to Orange, 
by means of the stolen seals which he displayed. 

Gerard had outlined this story previously to 
one of Parma's councillors with the words, "This 
and other rubbish I intend to relate to the said 
Nassau, so as to gain access to his presence as 
preliminary to the execution." 

The tale was indeed a skilful fabrication, 
propped up on a few truths, among which were 
the stolen seals. The man was not " Frangois 
Guion," an orphaned Huguenot, but Balthasar 
Gerard, a devout son of the ancient Church, who 
believed from the bottom of his heart that Orange 
was a public pest. In 1577 he had been reproved 
for his expressed wish to kill Orange and reminded 
that Philip was probably desirous of preserv- 
ing a valuable captain to his service, thinking 
he would at last be reconciled with his lawful 
sovereign. 

Giving ear to this remonstrance [says Gerard in 
his confession] I left all to God and his Majesty. 
But when I heard, about three years ago, that his 
Majesty had issued a sentence of death against the 
said Nassau in the form of a proscription, and as the 
execution of justice and the King's will seemed long 
delayed, I put my private affaires -in order, left Bur- 
gundy, and came hither on purpose to carry out the 
said sentence. This was in February, 1582. 



[1584] The Assassination 463 

The report of the Prince's death in March of the 
same year seemed to relieve Gerard of a charge. 
Then it was that he entered the service of his 
cousin Dupre in Luxemburg and possessed himself 
of Mansfeld's seals. Various events conspired to 
detain him in Luxemburg after he had assumed 
the burden of his task again, and it was not until 
March, 1584, that he made any advances towards 
fulfilling his vow. A Jesuit at Treves tried to 
dissuade him from his dangerous business, being, 
indeed, chiefly concerned about a possible misuse 
of the stolen seals. 

It was upon this priest's advice that Gerard 
went to Tournay for the express purpose of getting 
Parma's sanction upon his enterprise, so as to 
dignify the proposed crime into an authorised 
execution of justice. On March 21st, Parma 
gave him an audience, but was not very favourably 
impressed by his visitor and refused to advance 
any money. Vague promises from Councillor 
d'Assonleville that the King would fulfil his pro- 
mise and that the doer would be immortalised if 
the deed were done, were all that Gerard attained. 
At the same time he was warned of his personal 
danger and of the necessity of not compromising 
Parma. With this meagre encouragement, the 
assassin was obliged to content himself. He con- 
fessed himself again, left two more written state- 
ments and went on his way, with the result, as 
related before, that he was accepted in Delft 
at his word and was allowed to linger around the 



464 William the Silent [1584] 

Prinsenhof ,*" without being questioned further. 
Thus he had an opportunity to study the ins 
and outs of the Prinsenhof and to make careful 
plans for his own escape in case of need. 

His course of action was interrupted by the 
unsuspecting Prince, who asked Noel Caron, 
Lord of Schoonval, to take "Guion" with him 
from Holland to France, so that he might deliver 
his seals (they were cachets volants, easy to attach) 
to Marshal de Biron, at Cambray, thus stationed 
close enough to Luxemburg to be able, possibly, 
to utilise them. 1 "Guion" was not pleased at 
the offer, which removed him from Delft and the 
vicinity of his game, but he did not dare refuse 
his patron. He was uneasy, however, until 
Schoonval entrusted him with return despatches 
to Orange, so that he had an excuse for going to 
Delft. That was how he came to be standing there 
in the seclusion of the Prince's bedroom on that 
July morning, longing for a dagger to his hand, that 
he might use it pat. When dismissed from the 
Prince's room, no one bade him be off from the 
premises and he waited patiently for his second 
chance. He acted out his role of Calvinist refugee 
with remarkable skill. He was diligent at sermons 
(this was the item of his part that he deemed 
most perilous to his soul !) and was never seen 
without a psalm-book or some other Protestant 

1 In the meantime Mansf eld had substituted seals of a different 
pattern so that no advantage could have been gained by the foe 
through the stolen cachets volants. 



[1584] The Assassination 465 

volume in his hand. He even made friends with 
the porter by borrowing a Bible and insinuated 
himself into the fellowship of various other 
members of the household on the score of his 
theological brotherhood. He willingly consented 
to carry despatches back to France, saying that 
there was nothing now to keep him in Holland, 
except his want of money, confirming the state- 
ment by displaying the holes in his shoes. When 
this extreme poverty was reported to Orange, he 
ordered twelve crowns to be given to the man. 
This was done on Sunday, July 8th. Thus supplied 
with funds by his intended victim, Gerard bought 
a little second-hand pistol from Rene, one of the 
Prince's guard. It was out of order, so he bought 
two more from Sergeant de Forest, serving in 
the company of Captain Caulier. These stood 
his test, but he had not the balls he wanted, and 
it was too late to make his plans and finish his 
business on Monday. 

On Tuesday, July 10th, the Prince and his 
family came down-stairs to their midday dinner. 
Gerard pressed up to the stairway and drew close 
enough to Orange to ask for his passport. Louise 
de Coligny noticed the trembling voice and asked 
her husband who the wretched looking person 
was. He replied that he was a man who wanted to 
carry a message and they went in to dinner 
without further thought. Gerard took the time 
to get his pistols ready, loading one with three 
and one with two balls. He was seen near the 
30 



466 William the Silent [15841 

stable and soon afterwards leaning against a 
pillar at the door of the dining-room. Within, 
the dinner was in progress. Rombert Uylenburgh, 
a Frisian, was the sole outsider. The Prince's 
three daughters, wife, and sister made up the 
rest of the party. Accustomed to use meal- time 
for certain kinds of business, Orange kept the 
conversation upon affairs in Friesland throughout 
the repast. As the party left the table about an 
hour after noon, Colonel Morgan, an English- 
man,"and several other people came into the hall. 
Orange exchanged some further words with 
Uylenburgh and then with Morgan. As he 
passed through the door and turned towards the 
stairs, Gerard came very close to his person, 
asking for the passport, and discharged the three 
balls into the Prince's body. 

The stricken man gasped, "My God, take pity 
on my soul ; my God, take pity on this poor peo- 
ple!" and then tottered. His equerry supported 
him to the stairs, upon which he sank, unable to ut- 
ter another word, except a feeble "yes, " in answer 
to a question in German from his sister, the 
Countess of Schwarzburg, whether he commended 
his soul to Jesus Christ. Then his voice was 
silenced, while his eyes still expressed sorrow as 
they looked on his sister. A little later, he was 
lifted from the stairs to a bed and carried into the 
dining-room, where he soon breathed his last. 

Such is the official account and none of the 
Prince's own people denied the utterance of the 




WILLIAM OF NASSAU, PRINCE OF ORANGE, C. 1583 



[1584] The Assassination 467 

last words accredited to him, words that have 
been treasured as a sacred legacy, as a signal 
proof of his devotion to the people. Their 
authenticity has not passed unchallenged by his 
enemies and by historical critics, but the burden 
of proof seems to be in favour of their truth. 1 

In the first confusion the murderer almost 
succeeded in effecting his escape. He had pre- 
pared two bladders and a little tube for inflating 
them to aid him in swimming the moat behind 
the convent, so that he could reach the horse 
standing saddled and bridled for his use without 
the town. Balthasar did, indeed, manage to reach 
the rampart and was about to spring into the 
moat, when a lackey and a halberdier seized him. 
"You villain," said one. "No villain I," he 
replied. " I have only fulfilled the King's behest." 
"What King?" "The King of Spain, my master." 
When they took him back into the Prinsenhof , he 
cried, "Ah! door, door, thou hast deceived me, I 
see I am a dead man." He was taken into the 
janitor's room, where he wrote his confession. 

The hand that had once protected Jaureguy's 

1 Two reasons are urged to prove that the phrase was fabri- 
cated. The first is that given by Morillon (Cor. de Granvelle, xi., 
p. 81), that it was impossible that the Orangier could have said 
so much immediately after dinner, when he was always speechless 
from his libations. The second was that given by Bentivoglio 
that the nature of the wound rendered any utterance impossible. 

Fruin's answer to the first is that had the Prince been incapa- 
citated for speech or work from noon on, he would never have 
given Philip so much trouble; to the second, that the heart was 
not hit directly by the bullet. Verspreide Geschriften, iii., 65. 



468 William the Silent [1584] 

accomplices from torture was powerless now to 
aid this man, and the worst suffering that human 
ingenuity could invent was inflicted upon him in 
order to wrest complete information from the 
lips of the culprit. He evinced wonderful courage 
and steadfastness. In his first confession he told 
the truth about himself, but determinedly refused 
to incriminate any one and did not mention that 
the Jesuit at Treves, a Grey Friar at Tournay, the 
Councillor d'Assonleville, and the Duke of Parma 
were all accessory before the fact. There was not 
the faintest show of repentance. He declared 
unflinchingly that were he one thousand leagues 
from Delft he would return to slay the arch- 
heretic who had ruined the land. During four 
successive days torture was applied to elicit 
further details and a little more information was 
gained, but no repentance. Gerard steadfastly 
maintained that his act was righteous and en- 
joined of God. 

On Saturday, July 14th, the assassin was exe- 
cuted in a horrible manner, but never once during 
his agony, according to the testimony of Aerssens 1 
the "heretical pensionary' ' of Brussels, did he 
say "Ay rny." After his right hand was burned 
off, filling the market-place with smoke and ill- 
odour, he made a cross with the maimed stump 
of his arm. His executioners declared that witch- 
craft alone could have enabled the condemned 
to show such Spartan endurance, while the 

1 Cor., vi., p. 195. 



[15841 The Assassination 469 

Catholics held that only the blessedness of his 
deed could have fitted the holy sufferer to bear 
his martyrdom as became a saint. 

Popular indignation probably found some relief 
in the hideously vindictive character of the exe- 
cution, and the wrath of the people was kept 
alive by freedom to look upon the murdered man 
for many days, as he lay in state while the crowd 
streamed by. Criticism and distrust in his 
regard were forgotten and the construction of a 
shrine for hero-worship began in public memory 
at once, on the corner-stone of regret for the 
shortened life. It was, indeed, far too brief for 
its capabilities. 

At the time of his death William of Nassau 
was fifty-one years, two months, and sixteen days 
old. In person, he was of about average height, 
his figure was rather spare, but well built. His 
head was excellently proportioned, his face rather 
thin, his complexion brunette, his eyes brown, 
with a pleasant expression. He wore his auburn 
beard slightly pointed. As a young man his hair, 
of the same colour as his beard, was thick and 
luxuriant. In later life this grew thin and he is 
represented with a little cap. It will be remem- 
bered that he called himself a bald Calvinist, with 
a play of words that cannot be rendered in English. 

His old physician, Petrus van Foreest, present 
to pay him the last honours of the science that 
had once brought him back to life, declared that 
he was remarkably sound of heart and limb and 



47° William the Silent [ 15841 

destined by nature for many more years of 
activity. z 

During the weeks that intervened before the 
funeral, one artist, Christian Jansz. van Biesel- 
ingen, managed to defy the express prohibition 
of the States-General against any portrait of the 
dead Prince and succeeded in sketching him on 
his bier. The States had issued their order in 
fear "lest the enemy obtaining possession of 
such a picture, might ridicule it." 2 

On August 3d, a great public funeral took 
place. Official and private mourners in stately 
procession escorted the body to the " New Church," 
across the market-place, and saw it laid under the 
pavement, now covered by an elaborate monu- 
ment. The two nearest kinsmen, Count John 
and Philip William, were missing, but Maurice 
and his cousins were there to listen to the "brief 
and consoling sermon" from the text, "Blessed 
are the dead that die in the Lord . . . and their 
works live after them." And in regard to both 
life and works there were many opinions outside 
the church. 

The announcements of the murder promptly 
sent off by the Estates and the States- General 
were not the only official notifications despatched 

1 Dr. Van Foreest has left a detailed account of the process of 
embalming. See Fruin, iii., p. 40. 

2 See Oud-Holland, 1889, p. 281. A sketch of the Prince's head 
after death is in the Prinsenhof , but it is not certain whether this 
is the sketch referred to. 



[15841 The Assassination 471 

from the Netherlands. The Duke of Parma sent 
Philip his warmest personal congratulations that 
fitting punishment had at last been meted out as 
penalty for crimes against God, Christianity, and 
the King. Further, he declared that the relatives 
of the assassin "now in glory" should at least 
reap the fruits of his noble sacrifice. Gerard's 
family were fully in sympathy with this idea and 
hastened to make themselves known. Twenty -five 
thousand crowns were not easy for Parma to raise 
at the moment, but he drew up five reasons why 
the claim ought not to be ignored and suggested 
that some of the victim's confiscated estates in 
the Franche-Comte might be used to liquidate 
the debt of honour. Lievremont, Hostal, and 
Dammartin were accordingly bestowed upon 
Gerard's four brothers and three sisters, to- 
gether with a patent of nobility, this last given, 
indeed, only after ripe deliberation, as it was 
dated March 4, 1589. 

Cardinal Granvelle, too, was profuse in his 
expression of satisfaction at the final success of 
the Ban, and wrote: 

Alencon died on the tenth of June, Orange on 
the tenth of July, and it would be little loss if the 
queen mother were to die on the tenth of August. 
Alencon and Orange are in the right place and the 
martyrdom suffered by our good Burgundian in 
executing so heroic an act ought to have fitting 
recompense. 1 

1 Cor., vi., cxxvi. 



47 2 William the Silent [15841 

Such are sentences from different letters. The 
violent and treacherous death was thus accepted 
as being a mere act of justice somewhat irregu- 
larly performed, owing to the exigencies of the 
situation. Contemporaneous criticism of Philip 
for setting a price upon his antagonist is not harsh. 
It was not until one hundred and sixty-four years 
later that the Ban was cited as an instance of a 
"law contrary to nature and the ennobling of the 
assassin subversive of the ideas of honour, morality, 
religion." But in this generalisation Montesquieu 
was moved by modern, not by past theories. * In 
the sixteenth century there was no horror of arbi- 
trary acts affecting life and death. 

It is said that Calvin wrote to the King of 
Navarre (September 30, 1561): 

Honour, glory, and riches shall be the reward of 
your praise, but above all do not fail to rid the coun- 
try of those zealous scoundrels who stir up people 
to revolt against us. Such monsters should be ex- 
terminated as I have exterminated Michael Servetus, 
the Spaniard. 2 

Philip of Spain had no greater conscientious 
scruples about removing William of Orange 
than the Genevan reformer had in disposing of 
the heretical Spaniard. The "you, you, you," 
with which Du Maurier makes him characterise 
Orange as the root of all evil in 1559 had remained 
in his mind ever since, as the simple embodiment 

1 V esprit des loix, xxix., ch. 16. 2 Quoted. Original not found. 



[1584] The Assassination 473 

of the twenty-five years* trouble in the Nether- 
lands. From his point of view, William of 
Nassau, a German nobleman, with every reason 
for unquestioning loyalty to the King's family, 
had forfeited the right to exist within, while he 
would not go without, Philip's hereditary do- 
mains. Glance at the formal arraignment in 
the Ban. Many of the articles in the brief were 
literally true. The Prince of Orange had been 
a favourite of the late Emperor and had been 
distinguished by highly honourable appointments 
at an early age. Even at this epoch, gratitude 
and party loyalty are not considered out of place 
in recognition of official gifts, so that Philip's 
grieved surprise at the Prince's failure to be 
bound to his side by past favours is compre- 
hensible. From the moment when the monarch's 
presence was removed from the Low Countries, 
Orange certainly threw his full weight into the 
balance of opposition to his dearest wishes. While 
still in the Council of State, still a high official, 
a confidential lieutenant of the absent King, he had 
countenanced rebellious proceedings. Though his 
formal resignation was an honourable termination 
to what might be termed overt acts, his resump- 
tion of the vacated offices at the point of the 
sword was fiat rebellion. His persistent reitera- 
tion that he was simply opposing an unworthy 
servant in behalf of king, of law, and of people, 
was surely specious logic, even though it seemed 
perfectly to endorse the King's own assertion 



474 William the Silent [1584] 

that all the trouble sprang from Alva's imposition 
of an unpopular tax "as we had never ordered 
him to do," and that Orange made capital out 
of the error by "stoking" the fires of discontent 
while he himself was hastening to change his 
Netherland policy as soon as he saw the conflagra- 
tion. Again, it is not surprising that the most 
Catholic King should characterise the liberty 
of conscience in the Netherlands as simple dire 
confusion of religion (liberie de conscience on a 
vray dire, confusion de religion), considering how 
little unanimity there was among the reformers 
of different creeds. 

Moreover, it was perfectly true that the Nassau 
brothers and other Germans were placed in re- 
sponsible positions in the face of the principle 
phrased in an early stage of the revolt that 
Netherland offices should be barred to all for- 
eigners (uitlanders) without property interest at 
stake. 

Again in 1577-78, when Don John was honestly 
trying to carry out a conciliatory policy, Orange 
did undoubtedly exert every nerve to discredit 
him, and when a mighty effort was made to arbi- 
trate the differences at Cologne, Orange imposed 
impossible stipulations before he would consent 
to participation. He was right. The conflict 
was irrepressible and had to be fought out. This 
was plain to such contemporaneous observers 
as Sir Francis Walsingham, who states his 
own opinion to Lord Burleigh (report of a con- 



[1584] The Assassination 475 

versa tion with Catherine de' Medici, August 3, 
1581) 1 : 

But for the present, whoever doth consider to 
what extreme degree of alienation from the King 
the said subjects of the Low Countries are grown unto 
having beaten down his Arms and renounced his 
Government, how impossible it is to draw the Prince 
of Orange any ways to trust the King or the King to 
be reconciled unto him in respect of a book written 
by the said Prince wherein the King's honour is 
greatly touched, shall see no reason to hope for any 
reconciliation and that the Authors of that device 
do propound the same but for a delay to serve the 
King of Spain's turn. 

Thus the two men had confronted each other, 
the one consistent of purpose and supported by 
certain inherited principles regarding just mon- 
archical power and divine authority; — the other 
often inconsistent because he was, perforce, feel- 
ing his way among new conditions which had to 
be adjusted. Which of the two failed? Was it the 
King, convinced that safety to soul and to human 
society was only obtainable by the maintenance of 
the ancient Church as supreme caretaker of all? 
Or was it William of Nassau, with his opportun- 
ist endeavours to minimise all theological shades 
of difference and to establish one code of ethics 
and religion as a working basis for a harmonious 
modus vivendi? Which of the two was the victor? 

1 Digges, Compleat Ambassador, p. 432. 



476 William the Silent [1584] 

In 1584, Philip's policy looked almost completely 
triumphant in the realms where the sun never set. 
As far as the Netherlands was concerned, Pro- 
testantism was pretty thoroughly exterminated in 
the Walloon regions, where it had first been mili- 
tant. Out across the ocean in the lands under 
Spanish rule, obedience to Rome was being con- 
sistently enforced. In the very years when the 
outbreak in the Netherlands was coming to a 
head, 1562-67, Philip's servants were busied in 
giving " Christian souls" to the Seminole Indians 
of Florida — lately named for the Eastertide, — and 
to the natives of his own namesake islands. 
In the Philippines, there was no pitting of strength 
with the Reformers. The devoted missionaries 
that went thither with Legaspi in 1565 were 
followed by an unbroken line of successors who 
succeeded gradually in converting all the Filipinos 
to some semblance of the Roman Catholic Faith. 

In America, it was different. The message of 
peace was carried in one hand, while a sword 
was waved menacingly in the other, and for a 
time the sword gained its end. Spanish emi- 
gration laws were drawn up with much concern 
for the salvation of the aboriginal population. 
People of bad morals and questionable doctrine 
were to be excluded from the fair new world so 
that the virgin soil should not be contaminated. 
Theoretically at least, the western hemisphere 
was not regarded by Spain as a refuge for unde- 
sirables. Evil-doers and those tainted with 



[1584] The Assassination 477 

pernicious heresy were to have no foothold on 
the earth, if Pope and potentate could keep them 
away. The conversion of the savage had been 
the primary reason for the papal approval of the 
11 division of the world like an orange" between 
Christian princes in 1494, and to that ideal Philip 
was true, with a certain temporary success, not 
only in conversion to the Church, but in checking 
the spread of Protestantism. 

Glance at one episode in America. The French 
forestalled the English in the idea of colony- 
building in America by non-conformists. During 
the years 1562-67, when Orange was still cherish- 
ing hopes of seeing the Netherland provinces 
administered by home rule while faithful to their 
hereditary absentee prince, Gaspard de Coligny 
was trying to found a little Protestant state on 
American soil. One effort was abortive, 1 but 
finally a body of Huguenots under one Jean 
Ribault were despatched to Florida. Wise ideas 
of colonisation were wanting in their methods 
of action, in their plans of settlement, — but that is 
neither here nor there. The emigrants were estab- 
lished at the mouth of the St. John's River and 
might eventually have learned how to develop 
a new country to the best advantage, had not 

1 This stanza was attributed to some of the first party who 
did not find Florida to their taste: 

Qui veut aller a la Floride 
Qu'il y aille, j'y ay este" 
Et revenu sec et aride 
Et abbatu de povrete\ 



478 William the Silent [1584] 

Philip II. sent Pedro Menendez to expel the tres- 
passers from his domain. Menendez gives his 
own account of how he fulfilled his commission. 1 
It is a perfectly simple and direct statement that 
he took the fort and killed two hundred and thirty 
heretics. Another band was met at a distance 
from the fort. 

We told them how we had taken their Fort and 
hanged all within, because they had built it without 
your Majesty's permission and because they were 
scattering their odious Lutheran doctrines in these pro- 
vinces. . . . After much talk they offered to sur- 
render if I would grant their lives. 

The spokesman was assured that Menendez 
would act as God had ordered. 

Then he returned and they came to deliver up 
their arms. I had their hands tied behind them 
and had them stabbed to death . . . deeming that 
to punish them in this manner would be serving 
God, our Lord, and your Majesty. Hereafter they 
will leave us free to plant the Gospel and enlighten 
the natives. . . . 

It was a clear massacre in cold blood. Sixteen 
artisans alone were preserved for their craft. 
There were also about fifty women and children 
under fifteen not slain at the first. These last 
caused Menendez embarrassment. He did not 
exactly want to butcher them, but it "causes me 
deep sorrow to see them among my people on 

1 Letter to Philip, Unwritten History of St. Augustine, 1909. 



[1584] The Assassination 479 

account of their horrid religion.'* He felt it im- 
portant to keep the air pure from taint because 
"in a few years this land will be a suburb of 
Spain, reached in forty days." 

Thus was doctrine exalted above human life, 
even out in the wilderness, and for human suffer- 
ings there was not the slightest pity. The world 
has grown softer hearted since those times. In 
a New England State lately, a just capital punish- 
ment was long delayed, because no executioner 
could be found to fulfil the law's decree of taking 
life for a life. 

At the end, however, the severity counted for 
nothing. Philip failed. The Church he loved 
could not check the growth of the Protestant 
faith, and the omnipotence of Spain proved to be 
a chimera, like his paramount authority in the 
Netherlands. When he met his own death his 
policy had met defeat everywhere. By that time, 
Henry IV. had beaten him in France, the Nassaus 
ultimately defeated him in Holland, and the 
English conquered him on the sea. He was bank- 
rupt, his country ruined, his dream of the universal 
predominance of Catholicism at an end. He alone 
still believed in his dominance — but his failure was 
certain. The time-spirit of the sixteenth century 
was an opponent he could not down. In his day 
Spain was the richest nation of Europe, — to-day 
the national wealth is rated at $6,000,000,000, 
$1,000,000,000 less than that of little Belgium. 
Its population is about 19,000,000, yet its total 



480 William the Silent [1584] 

exports and imports are about $338,000,000, com- 
pared with $1,900,000,000 for the Netherlands, 
with 6,000,000 of population. Spain's indebtedness 
is the largest per capita indebtedness in Europe. 
The individual demands for the advantages of 
civilisation are meagre — 4700 is, for instance, the 
sum-total of her post-offices; Canada, with half 
Spain's population, has 10,800. T Spain is indeed 
Europe's last stronghold of medievalism, and 
Philip it was who set the standard for her methods. 

Turning from the triumphant survivor who 
failed to the fallen opponent, there is greater 
difficulty in judging of the ultimate effect of his 
life and of his real character. William of Nassau 
was by no means a simple personality. Nor can 
he, like Philip, be framed in his past and judged 
through the medium of the atmosphere in 
which he lived. In so many respects he was not 
of his epoch. He could have held his own in 
the nineteenth far better than in the sixteenth 
century. In regard to his effect, compare him 
with Gaspard de Coligny. The latter was the 
leader of men whose own enthusiasm spurred them 
on, who turned to him for sympathy and advice 
because he drew his religious inspiration from the 
same source that they did. He was only eminent 
among others of his kind. Orange, on the other 
hand, forced an action, — that of political revolt, and 
put himself at the head of the actors. He was the 

1 Summaries of December, 1909. 



[1584] The Assassination 481 

soul and mainspring of all, — even while his opin- 
ions were strangely at variance with his followers. 
Yet with his fall, his cause did not perish, while 
Coligny's death meant the death-blow to the 
political recognition of the Huguenots for which 
he was striving. The stream of the movement 
was drained of its vigour, though it continued to 
exist until the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 
when it dwindled into a tiny stream like the brook 
at the base of a ravine. 

On the other hand, after the Prince's death, 
before the sun set on that July 10th, a definite 
resolution had been adopted by the States- 
General that they should "look to the safety of 
the land, cities, places, and soldiery, both in the 
camp and elsewhere under our authority, to the 
end that no chance be given to the foe to bring 
our affairs into confusion." 

Two bodies were in session at Delft, — the 
Estates of Holland and the States-General of the 
provinces in revolt. They it was who acted as 
executive and sent out formal announcements of 
the loss they had suffered. New responsibility 
was shouldered by them and the fight went on. 
What had been initiated under Orange had gained 
too much momentum to stop. 1 

1 De vergadering der Staten-Generaal op 10 July na den noen. 
J. Huizinga in "Bijdragen voor Vaderlandsche Geschiedenis " 
4 de reeks, 1907, p. 361. The writer has proved that credit is due 
to the united deputies, not alone to Holland, as has been believed. 
Nor was there a hurry call for convention. The deputies were 
on the spot, transacting regular business. 



482 William the Silent [1584] 

Orange has been compared to Cromwell, to 
Washington, and to Lincoln, as well as to Coligny. 
With the first there seems comparatively little 
in common. In regard to the other three, it may 
be conceded that Orange fell below their stand- 
ards in certain elements of moral fibre. The 
fact that there were different ethical principles 
in his epoch is not full explanation of the differ- 
ences. The words and phrases used by him 
and his contemporaries are perfectly explicit in 
theories of veracity and of justice that were 
never lived up to. 

Possibly Orange resembles Lincoln more closely 
than he does any other leader, in spite of the 
fact that the one was the flower of an heredi- 
tary aristocracy, and the other of a pioneer 
democracy. The similarity consists in the pos- 
session of distinct political ambition because 
each felt that he could achieve the end desired, 
and in devotion to an ideal state, a state 
sprung from or consisting of a union of political 
entities, a state with a nice balance of power, the 
whole state being the first consideration to each 
man in contradistinction to the sectional, religious, 
or personal aims which were engrossing many 
of their fellow workers. In the identification of 
Lincoln's name with the abolition of slavery as 
an institution, it is now forgotten how bitterly 
fervid abolitionists criticised him for his dilatory 
steps towards freedom for all, for his persistent 
attention to the preservation of the Union as the 



[15841 The Assassination 483 

first thing needful, prior to his assumption of 
authority in the burning question that was con- 
suming them. 

Wrong as we think slavery is, we can yet afford 
to let it alone where it is because that much is due 
to the necessity arising from its actual presence in 
the nation, but can we, while our votes will prevent 
it, allow it to spread into the national territories 
and to overrun us here in these free States. 

This ante-bellum utterance of Abraham Lincoln 
at a moment when compromise and averted war still 
seemed possible, maybe counted as indicative of the 
same mental conception of responsibility as that 
of Orange which called down the virulent attacks 
of Dathenus and his friends when they murmured 
that the Prince was jockeying with the truth. 
" I am approached with the most opposite opinions 
expressed on the part of religious men, each of 
whom is equally certain that he represents the 
Divine will," said Lincoln (September, 1862), and 
the epithets that were applied to Father Abraham 
in the press and pulpit of the time were not wholly 
different from those hurled at " Father William." 
At the same time, slavery was as repugnant to 
Lincoln as inquisition into, and persecution for, 
private beliefs were to Orange, while the one recog- 
nised political expediency and even property 
rights, the other religious rights, in those of 
different views. A certain trip down the Mis- 
sissippi River taken by Abraham Lincoln as a boy 



484 William the Silent U584] 

when the aspects and conditions of a slave market 
impressed him indelibly with the iniquity of the 
" institution, " maybe compared to the impression, 
— traditional though it may be, — with the shock 
felt by the Prince in 1559, when Henry II. confided 
to him the plans for enforcing the Inquisition 
as they rode through the forest of Vincennes. 
Nevertheless, while abominating the tyranny of 
the institution and stemming the way to its entry 
into virgin territory, Lincoln still was unwilling to 
hasten to sweep away legal rights, just as Orange 
was unwilling to ignore the rights of Nationalist 
Catholics. Both men worked very gradually 
through a long political experience, when compro- 
mise still seemed feasible between conflicting in- 
terests, and when certain issues were subordinated 
to what each leader considered national neces- 
sities. Orange went further in this spirit than 
did the American. In phrase more vigorous 
than elegant, Lincoln declared that he never 
attempted to stroke "the back of a political 
porcupine, " a task that Orange may be charged 
with undertaking in his negotiation with Anjou, 
in his persistent choice of France as an ally. 

Again, in their relation with the public, there 
is a marked similarity between the Prince and 
the President. Lincoln pursued a consistent 
policy of taking the people into his confidence. 
Orange never lost an opportunity in the successive 
readjustment of political conditions in Holland, 
in her successive unions with Zealand and the 



[1584] The Assassination 485 

extension of those unions to her sister provinces 
of bringing the smaller towns to the fore, of ex- 
tending the responsibility for concerted action. 
Yet he was never aided by whole-souled enthu- 
siasm for a United Netherland free from Spaniards 
— such enthusiasm as Garibaldi and Cavour found 
in fighting for a United Italy free from Austrians. 
Such likeness as exists between Orange and 
George Washington lies rather in the facts of pro- 
vincial rebellion against distant sovereigns than 
in traits of character common to the two men. 
George Washington was built on fairly simple 
lines and one portion of his life, one phase of his 
career was consistent with another. William of 
Nassau was a complex and intricate personality. 
Had he been born at an earlier date in the century, 
he would probably have been, like his uncle, a 
loyal courtier to the end of his life. He was a 
worldling, wanting wealth, power, and position 
for himself and his kinsfolk, ready to accept politi- 
cal methods, long content to count a State Church 
as part of useful state machinery, with little real 
feeling for religion. This has been said again 
and again throughout this story and it is hardly 
necessary to repeat it. Yet the thought of that 
early attitude comes back as the conviction is 
forced upon one that from it the man grew to 
accept a real religious belief which completely 
differentiates him from Elizabeth of England and 
Henry of Navarre. His toleration was not the 
political and ecclesiastical compromising of the 



486 William the Silent [1584] 

one, nor the cynicism of the other. It is curious 
how little he was really aided in his plans by his 
peculiar attitude towards theological controversy. 
Those words referred to, "Het geschil is te kleen 
om gesplijt te blijven," "The difference is too 
petty to justify your divisions, "as an utterance 
made by him in 1567 when urging Lutherans, 
Calvinists, and Anabaptists to come to some 
agreement of faith, never helped his cause. All 
three sects alike simply distrusted him because 
he found "petty" what they exalted into essential 
truth. Coligny with his single-mindedness might 
have gathered more uncompromising and more 
closely serried ranks under his standard. And, 
if guessing be justifiable on hypothetical his- 
torical premises, the conjecture might be hazarded 
that had Orange been alive from 181 5 to 1830, a 
united Netherland realm would still exist. His 
cast of mind was three centuries out of place. 
Strange, though, that his theories of toleration 
finally enhanced the reputation of Holland in 
that regard beyond her deserts ! It was not until 
long after his death that many narrow barriers 
to personal liberty were removed. The progress 
towards political eligibility, irrespective of creed, 
was very slow in the Netherlands. Even in New 
Netherland the spirit of intoleration was rampant. 
Lutherans and Quakers found no welcome, but 
inconvenient restrictions at the infant port of 
New York in the middle of the seventeenth cen- 
tury, — and the restrictions were not dead letters. 



[1584] The Assassination 487 

One of Brandt's stories is delightfully typical of 
the Prince's own propensity to ignore theological 
disputes. During a passing visit at Utrecht he 
chanced to select the church for his Sunday 
devotions where the pastor, Hubert Duifhuis, 
was suspected of dangerous liberalism. A depu- 
tation of burghers waited on their visitor at once 
to remonstrate against his showing sympathy 
with the criticised dominie. 

"Oh, I simply said I would go where there was 
the best preaching," he answered, "and they 
carried my cushions thither. I knew nothing 
of the controversy. The sermon was excellent. 
Next time I will hear the other minister. " 

Probably neither faction was pleased and both 
were puzzled by the indifference. Another in- 
stance of his attitude of mind is the course he 
pursued in Antwerp in 1578 when he refrained 
from going to church because the political situa- 
tion was so delicate. This fact appears in a 
certain letter written by a deputy to the States- 
General, sitting at Antwerp, to his constituents 
at Tournay. Barthelemy Liebart was evidently 
in the habit of keeping his friends informed. 
Regarding the transactions of September 10th 
he wrote x : 

When the Prince of Orange had announced that 
God had given him a daughter whom he wished to 
have baptised, he said that he had abstained from the 

x Cor., vi., p. 311. 



488 William the Silent [15841 

exercise of his religion for more that a year, but now, 
considering that it was freely exercised publicly in 
this city (as in the house of the Jesuits, in the castle 
chapel, and in two other places in the said city) he 
was determined, henceforth, to suit his own conven- 
ience in public, but desired to inform the Estates 
first of his intention so that they would not take it ill. 
Whereupon no answer was given, either because they 
wished to pass by the point in silence or because they 
wished to leave it to his discretion. 

Here, too, it is probable that the middle course 
persistently pursued by Orange had excited much 
adverse criticism from friend and foe. 

The Prince shows at his best in his relations with 
his own family. In following the mass of Nassau 
correspondence, intimate and semi-official, the 
reader is inspired with a sense of fundamental 
trust in the man, sufficient to overbalance the 
criticism evoked by the blots — and not all were 
trivial — that mar his great qualities. Not only 
trust but profound sympathy. For the leader's 
loneliness often comes into sharp relief. He was 
self-reliant but by no means self-sufficient. Indeed 
during certain periods of his career, the solitary 
character of his mind, as well as of his political 
position, is pathetic. The desire that he had to 
be justified of men is very dominant. It was an 
appeal for sympathy from somewhere. 

Between the contradictory adjectives applied 
to him, it is difficult indeed to select one that is 
perfectly apt, though it is comparatively easy 




THE STAIRCASE IN THE PRINZENHOF. 
(From an etching in De Moord van T584.) 



11584] The Assassination 489 

to discard the one most closely identified with him. 
The term silent or taciturn is so singularly inept 
that it is hard to see how it ever became at- 
tached to the genial, social Prince, clever in turning 
his memory for names and faces to good account, 
with a warm word for high and low; one who 
made a friend every time he took off his hat; one 
who actually excited criticism because he relieved 
the strain under which he lived by his evident 
enjoyment of general unrestrained table talk, inter- 
spersed with jesting stories. ' 'Some wiseacres,' ' 
says Hooft, "were annoyed at this? not realis- 
ing that deep anxiety underlay the merriment. " 
Here again is a passing resemblance to Abraham 
Lincoln. Silent Orange never was, though always 
astute. Very probably it was a misquotation that 
turned a term sly, often applied to him, into the taci- 
turn, used first by inimical and gradually adopted 
by friendly Belgian writers, even such as Gachard. * 

1 Fruin has discussed this question (vii., 404). In a pamphlet 
of 1574, Ontleiding van Pandora, occurs this sentence: "When 
Titelman, the furious inquisitor of Flanders, heard that Egmont 
and Hoorn were arrested, he said, 'If sly William has escaped, the 
joy will be of short duration'" (Als sluwe Willem het ont- 
komen is zal de vreugde toch van korten duur zijn). This phrase 
with Granvelle substituted for Titelman is to be found in the third 
edition (1608) of Van Meteren. Strada copies the story and 
taciturnus in Latin, zwiiger in Dutch, then took root in story. 
Fruin shows that in Granvelle's known letters prior to 1568, his 
usual characterisation of the Prince is as a young and thoughtless 
person. One single contemporaneous use of the adjective occurs 
in the diary of a Groningen peasant, Abel Eppens, but that 
seems to be the sole instance of it. Fruin protests against the 
adoption of the epithet, as does Blok. See Bijdragen, v. viii. 



490 William the Silent [1584] 

Nothing is more typical of the Prince's dominant 
characteristic — his inclination to seize on passing 
opportunities — than the names selected for his 
children. They reflect the colour of successive 
phases of his career. In 1554, when the eldest 
boy was baptised, the Nassau William yielded 
first place to Spanish Philip. Naturally, too, 
Marie was named for the Queen, under whose 
regency her father was loyal lieutenant to the 
Emperor. It was also natural that he should 
permit the great Elector's daughter to remember 
her father in Maurice and herself in Anne. Then 
come Charlotte's six daughters. It was hoped that 
Louise would please the Duke of Montpensier, 
but Juliana was not chosen for political reasons. 
That was given in natural respect and real affec- 
tion for Juliana of Stolberg. During the years 
when the others were born, one after the other, 
new friends were to be won to the cause. The 
second girl, Elizabeth, was godchild to the Eng- 
lish Queen, who, it was hoped, would prove a 
fairy godmother in her gifts to the Netherlands. 
Then Catherine Belgia symbolised the brief union 
of all the seventeen provinces and the States- 
General were her sponsors. Flandrina, Braban- 
tina, and Antwerpiana were all three named in 
the hopes of exciting especial feelings of loyalty 
from provinces and cities for the father's plans, 
and the godfathers were numerous in their official 
capacity. Last came Frederick itenry, whose 
godfathers, the kings of Denmark and Navarre, 



[1584] The Assassination 491 

were chosen, perhaps, with the intention of show- 
ing that the alliance with the French Catholics 
was to be definitely abandoned. 

Even if William of Nassau were not the personi- 
fication of certain qualities that go to make the 
popular hero, nevertheless he fully deserves to 
be ranked among the marked men of the world. 
He is eminently conspicuous. He towers far 
above the crowd. He was not like any one else, 
yet he was so intensely human in both his virtues 
and his failings, that he is perfectly comprehen- 
sible to a later age. 

Instead of climbing up to luxury from humble 
beginnings, as political leaders often do, his 
career was marked by a change from luxury to 
poverty. The years of wandering and deprivation 
were great contrasts to the time when he gave 
expensive and fantastic banquets on table-cloths 
made of sugar. That he was ambitious may be 
granted, but, as said before, it was an ambition 
for a purpose to which his own status was re- 
peatedly subordinated, an ambition that gave 
him courage to endure hardship and sacrifice. 
From having an extravagant and costly wardrobe, 
the time came when he knew which suit had been 
sent to the tailor's for repairs, when the once 
lavish host could make the closest calculations 
how he could manage to afford a little gift and 
what table utensil could be spared. 

One charge repeatedly made against him is that 
of cowardice. That his bent was towards peace 



492 William the Silent [1584] 

rather than war is certain, but assuredly, he 
never allowed considerations for his personal 
safety to interfere with his plans. His early ex- 
periences on the French frontier accustomed him 
to danger, and though it chanced that he did not 
take an active part in the pitched battles of his 
Huguenot allies nor of his own cause, it could not 
have been cowardice that drove him from the 
field. He was always exposed to personal peril 
and always conscious in taking the risks. Warn- 
ings were entirely disregarded. He visited Lei- 
den, reeking as the city was from pestilence; he 
was so little watchful in Brussels that his wife 
begged him at least to sup within his own walls, 
and he took scant precautions for his protection 
even after he was declared a free target for any 
aim. 

In stamping him as statesman rather than 
general, it must still be acknowledged that in 
spite of the rebuffs he met, nevertheless Alva 
was baffled, Requesens discouraged, and Parma 
kept at bay; and during all the fourteen years 
when these experienced generals were at work, it 
was de facto the Prince of Orange who was re- 
sponsible for their discomfiture. In certain enter- 
prises, as in the relief of Leiden, he showed, or 
at least encouraged, a disregard of stereotyped 
methods that was extremely effective. War was 
not the science it became later, and undoubtedly 
the Prince's military technique was far inferior to 
that of his son, Maurice. But he himself was 



[1584] 



The Assassination 



493 



potent in what he did. The failures that over- 
whelmed him were inevitable from the nature of 
things, but the seeds of success which were planted 
in the sturdy little nation fell from his hand to 
blossom later. Holland is right in calling him 
Pater patrice. 




STATES-GENERAL MEDAL 




ORANGE MEDAL 



THE WILHELMUSLIED 

Written and adopted in 1572, the authorship of -l 
the verses has never been decided. It has been at- 
tributed to Philip Mar nix, to Coornhert, and to an 
unknown follower of Orange. A late investigator de- 
cides that there is no proof of Marnix's authorship, 
and thinks that one J. P. Howaert (1 533-1599), a 
professional rederyker or rhetorician, was the author, 
while Prof. Blok suggests Adrian Saravia. See Fl. van 
Duyse, Het Oude Nederlandsche Lied, den Haag, 1905, 
and Blok's Bijdragen N r 4, 1910. The three stanzas 
are fair examples of the fifteen composing the song. 
The air was an old one. 



Wilhelmus of Nassau, 

I am of German line, 
And faithful to the Fatherland 

Bide I, till death be mine. 
As sov' reign Prince of Orange 

I am undaunted, free; 
His Majesty of Spain 

I 've honoured loyally. 



Wilhelmus van Nassouwe 

ben ickvan deutschen bloet ; 
den Vaderlant ghetrouwe 

blijf ick tot in den doet, 
Een prince van Oraengien 

ben ick vrij, onverveert, 
den coninc van Hispaengien 

heb ick altijt gheert. 



495 



496 



The Wilhelmuslied 



My life and all that is my own 

I to your cause confide; 
My brothers, loyal gentlemen, 

Stand faithful at my side. 
Count Adolf we left lying there 

In Friesland's woful fray, 
His soul in the eternal life 

Awaits the Judgment Day. 



Lijf ende goed te samen 

heb ick u nict gheschoont. 
mijn breeders, hooch von na- 
men, 

hebben 't u ooc vertoont. 
Graaf Adolf is ghebleven 

in Vrieslant in den slach, 
sijn siel in eeuwich leven 

verwacht den jongsten dach. 



15 

Before my God I dare assert, 

Before His Sovereign might, 
That at my hand the King of 
Spain 

No slur has met nor slight. 
But that to God, the Over- 
Lord, 

The Majesty supreme, 
In Justice I submit myself 

To honour and obey. 



15 

Voor God uil ick belijden 

en Sijner groter macht, 
dat ick tot ghenen tijden 

den coninc heb veracht, 
dan dat ick God den Heere 

der hpochster majesteit 
heb moeten obedieren 

in der gherechticheit. 




BIBLIOGRAPHY 

An excellent and discriminating resume of the 
sources for this period (i 533-1 584) is given in Blok's 
History of the Dutch People (English version, New 
York, 1900), vol. iii., p. 500. 

See also Pirenne, Bibliographie de Vhistoire de 
Belgique (Bruxelles, 1902) and the bibliographies in 
Cambridge Modern History, vol. iii., p. 98, and in 
Histoire generate du iv e siecle a nos jours (Lavisse and 
Rambaud, Paris, 1895), vol. v., p. 203. 

The following list comprises simply the printed 
volumes referred to directly and indirectly in the 
text. In many cases others might have been used. 
Practical use of the list leads insensibly to the general 
and collateral literature of the XVI. century, which of 
course, is not specified here. The dates and theo- 
logical bias of the important contemporary writers 
are mentioned. 

Archivalia: 
The Hague. — The most important correspondence 
of William of Orange has long been accessible in the 
Archives ou correspondance inedite de la maison 
d' Orange Naussau edited by M. Groen von Prinsterer 
in eight volumes (Leiden, 1 835-1 847). The papers 
selected from those at The Hague are supplemented 
by the results of Groen's investigations at Besancon, 
Paris, Brussels, Cassel, and Wiesbaden. Comparison 
32 497 



498 Bibliography 

of the printed matter with such originals as exist in 
the Koninklijke Huisarchief proves that the scholar, 
learned and conscientious though he was, did not 
always use the most approved methods of editing. 
His own political • and theological bias is constantly 
betrayed, or rather conscientiously indicated in the 
turn given by his selections, notes, and omissions. 

Brussels. — M. Gachard, archivist of Belgium, fur- 
nished a complement to the above series in his 
Correspondance de Guillaume le taciturne (6 vols., 
Bruxelles, 1 847-1 866). The bulk of these papers are 
in the archives at Brussels, but many more were col- 
lected from Paris, London, Madrid, and Simancas. 
Only those originals to be found at Brussels have been 
compared with the printed matter. A greater de- 
gree of accuracy is evident in this work than in that of 
M. Groen. At the same time the material, mainly 
official, is far more colourless and thus less useful for 
biography, pure and simple. There are nearly 2000 
documents in these two series and their supplements, 
about 1000 of which emanate from William of Orange. 
Many other letters, autograph signed or in contempo- 
raneous copies, are scattered through the publications 
mentioned in the lists. Sometime these last will be 
more available when the suggestion of the Commis- 
sion of Advice for s'Rijks Geschiedkundige Publicatien 
takes effect and a complete collection of the Prince's 
letters as a supplement to the work of Groen and 
Gachard is issued. 

It is a matter of regret that many an interesting 
letter, never published, had to be discarded for one 
already printed because the latter did better service 
in telling the story. 



Bibliography 499 

Acts of the Privy Council of England. New series, v. viii., a.d. 
I 57 I ~^575- Ed. John Roche Dasent. i v., 8vo. London, 
1894. 

Ady, Mrs. (Julia Cartwright), Isabella d'Este (1474-1539). 
2 v. London, 1903. 

Apologie de Guillaume de Nassau, Justification, etc., Ed. A. 
Lacroix. 1 v., i2mo. Bruxelles, 1858. 

Arnoldi, Johannes von, Historische Denkwurdigkeiten. 1 v., 
8vo. Leipzig, 18 17. 

Geschichte der Oranien-Nassauischen Lander und Hirer 

Regenten. 3 v. in 4, 8vo. Hadamar, 1799-18 16. 

Aubery, Louis, Seignior du Maurier (d. 1687), Histoire de 
Guillaume de Nassau avec des notes politiques, historiques, et 
critiques par M. Amelot de la Houssaye. (Work was formerly- 
known as Memoires — author was Protestant, son to French am- 
bassador in Holland.) Londres, 1754. 

Bakhuizen van den Brink, R. C, Het Huwelijk van Willem 
van Oranje met Anna van Saxen. 1 v. Amsterdam, 1853. 

Studien en schetzen. 4 v. s'Gravenhage, 1877. 

La premiere assemblee des Stats de Hollande en 1572, 

in "Les archives du Royaume des Pays-Bas." Recueil de doc- 
uments in£dits. 1 v., 8vo. La Haye, 1857. 

Beaufort, L. F. de, Het leven van Willem I, prins van 
Oranje. 3 vols. Leiden, 1732 (published anonymously). 

Bentivoglio, Guido (Cardinal, b. 1577, d. 1644, Catholic and 
royalist). Delia guerra di Fiandra. 3 v. Milano, 1806. 

Bizot, Pierre, Histoire metallique de la republique de Hol- 
lande. Vol. i. Paris, 1688. 

Blok, Petrus Johannes (Professor at Leiden, since 1894), 
Eene Hollandsche stad in de middeleeuwen. 1 v. 

Eene Hollandsche stad onder de Bourgondisch-Oosterijksche 

heerschappij . 1 v. s'Gravenhage, 1 883-1 884. 

Correspondentie van en treffende Lodewijk de Nassau. 

1 v. Utrecht, 1887. 

Lodewijk van Nassau (1538-1574). 1 v. s'Gravenhage, 

1889. 

De slag op de Mookerheide, 1574. Groningen, 1891. 

De watergeusen in Engeland, 1568-1572. 1 v. s'Graven- 
hage, 1896. 

Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche volk. Vol. iii. Gronin- 



500 Bibliography 

gen, 1896. English translation by Ruth Putnam, New York, 
1900. 

Archivalia belangrijk voor de geschied enis van Nederland. 

Verslag aangaande een onderzoek in Duitschland. 
Verslag aangaande een onderzoek in Oostenrijk. 
Verslag aangaande een onderzoek in Engeland. 
Verslag aangaande een onderzoek in Parijs. s'Graven- 
hage, 1888-89. '9 1 an d '97- 

Bor, Pieter Christianz (b. Utrecht 1559, d. 1635, Hollan- 
der and Protestant), Oorspronck, begin ende aenvang der Neder- 
landscher oorlogen. 6 vols. Amsterdam and Leiden, 162 1. 

Bottiger, Karl Wilhelm, Wilhelm's von Oranien Ehe mit 
Anna von Sachsen, in Raumer's " Historisches Taschenbuch." 
V. vii., p. 81. Leipzig, 1836. 

Brandt, G. (b. Amsterdam 1626, d. 1685, Hollander and 
Protestant), Historie der reformatie en andere kerkelijke ge- 
schiedenissen in en omntrent de Nederlanden tot 1600. 4 vols. 
Amsterdam, 1 677-1 704. 

Burgon, John W., The Life and Times of Sir Thomas Gres- 
ham (b. London 15 19, d. 1579, Protestant). 2 v., 8vo. Lon- 
don, 1839. 

Bussemaker, Dr. Th., De afscheiding der Waalsche Gemeente 
van de generate unie. 2 v., 8vo. Haarlem, 1895. 

Opgave vom hetgeen de " Coleccion de documentos ineditos 

para la historia de Espana" betreffende onze Vaderlandsche 
Geschiedenis bevat. Bijdragen, 1896. 3d series, vol. ix., pp. 
352-458. Bussemaker's article is a useful guide to the Coleccion 
(3 vols. Madrid, 1842-95). 

Calendar of State Papers. (Spanish, 1 568-1 579.) Preserved 
principally in the archives of Simancas. Ed. Martin A. S. 
Hume. London, 1894. 

(1572-74) Preserved in State Paper Department. Ed. 

Allen James Crosby. London, 1876. 

Calendar of the Manuscripts of the Marquis of Salisbury (Cecil 
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Carnero, A., Historia de las guerras civiles que ha avido en 
los estados de Flandres des del anno 1559 hasta el de 1609. (Span- 
iard, served as soldier in Flanders, 1585). (folio.) Brussels, 
1625. 

Dasent, John Roche (editor), Acts of Privy Council of 



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England. New series, v. viii.-xiii. (i 571-1582). 8vo. London, 
1894-1898.% 

Delaborde, Count Jules, Charlotte de Bourbon. 8vo, 1 v. 
Paris, 1888. 

Louise de Coligny. 2 v., 8vo. Paris, 1890. 

Digges, Sir Dudley (b. 1583, d. 1639), The Compleat Ambas- 
sador. 1 v., folio. London, 1655. 

Documents concernant les relations entre le due d'Anjou et les 
Pays-Bas (1576-1583). 3 v. s'Gravenhage, 1886-91. 

Documents hist, inedits concernant Vhistoire des Pays-Bas 
(1577-84). Ed. Kervyn de Volkaersbeke and A. Diegerick. 
2 v., 8vo. Gand, 1849. 

Dumont, J. (editor), Corps universel diplomatique du droit des 
gens. Tome v., partie i. London, 1727. 

Fruin, Robert (professor at Leiden, d. 1900), Verspreide 
Geschriften met anteekeningen, toevoegsels en verbeteringen uit des 
schrijvers nalatenschap. Editors, P. J. Blok, S. L. Muller, S. 
Muller. 10 v., 8vo. s'Gravenhage, 1900-1905. 

During a long lifetime Fruin wrote upon the important epi- 
sodes of the Eighty Years' War as occasion arose. It was only 
after his death that the scattered articles were collected. Those 
referred to or followed in this volume are the following: 

Het karakter van het Nederlandsche volk, i., 1. 

De drie tijdvakken der Nederlandsche geschiedenis, i., 

22. 

Een Hollandsche stad in de middeneuwen, i., 49. 

De Nederlandsche beroerten in de i6 e eeuw uit een kath- 

olick oogpunt beschouwd, ii., 1. ^ 

De overwinning bij Heiligerlee, ii., 84. 

Prins Willem I. in het jaar 1570, ii., in. 

Nederland in 1571 betrokken in de politiek der groote 

mogendheden, ii., 167. 

De Gorcumsche Martelaren, ii., 277. 

Prins Willem in onderhandeling met den vijand over 

vrede, 1572-76, ii., 336. 

Het beleg en ontzet der stad Leiden in 1574, ii., 385. 

Over eenige ziekten van prins Willem I., iii., 40. 

De onde verhalen van den moord van prins Willem I., 

iil., 65. 

De laatste woorden van prins Willem I., iii., 86. 



502 Bibliography 

Fruin, Robert, Het oudste geschrift van Philips van Marnix, 
vii., 93. 

Een anoniem pamflet van 1567 toegekend aan Marnix, 

vli., 99. 

De oprichting der nieuwe bisdommen vin Nederlanden, 

viii., 298. 

Alva's bril, viii., 373. 

Willem de Zwijger, viii., 404. 

De Zeventien provincien en haar vertegenwording in de 

Staten-Generaal, ix., 1. 

Belasting bij quoten in 1577, ix., 29. 

De unie van Utrecht, ix., 37. 

Over 't woord haagpreek, viii., 307. 

Not included in collected works: 

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Geschiedenis der staatsinstellingen in Nederland tot den val 

den Republick uitgegeven door Dr. H. T. Colenbrander. 1 v. 
s'Gravenhage, 1901. 

De Nederlandsche ballingen in Engeland, 1 568-1 570. 

Bidr. v. vaderl. gesch., 1892, IIP R. dl. vi. 

In addition to these many of Fruin 's reviews on Motley, 
Groen, Kervyn, etc., are interesting. 

Gachard, Louis Prosper, Correspondance de Guillaume le 
taciturne. 6 vols., 8vo. Bruxelles, 1847-57. 

Correspondance de Philippe II. sur les affaires des Pays- 

Bas. 5 vols., 4to. Bruxelles, 1848-70. 

Correspondance de Marguerite d'Autriche avec Philippe 

II- (1559-68). 3 vols. Bruxelles, 1867. 

Correspondance d 'Alexandre Farnese, Prince de Parme, 

avec Philippe II., 1 578-1 579. Bruxelles. 

Correspondance du due d'Albe sur Vinvasion du comte Louis 

de Nassau. 1850. 

Actes des Etats-Generaux des Pays-Bas. 8vo. Bruxelles, 

1861. 

Documents inedits concernant Vhistoire de Belgique. Vol. i., 

8vo. Bruxelles, 1833. 

Analectes Belgiques; recueil de pieces inedites, etc. 3 vols., 

8vo. Bruxelles, 1830. 

Relations des ambassadeurs venitiens sur Charles Quint 

et Philippe II. Bruxelles, 1856. 



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Cones pondance de (faisant suite aux Papier s d 1 etat). Ed. 

E. Poullet and C. Piot. 12 v. Bruxelles, 1878-97. 

Groen van Prinsterer, Gulielmus, Archives ou Corre- 
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supplement. Leiden, 1 835-1 847. 

Van Someren, J. F., La correspondance du prince Guillaume 
d' Orange avec Jacques de Wesenbeke. Supplement au recueil 
de M. G. Groen van Prinsterer. 1 v., 8vo. Amsterdam, 
1896. 

Guicciardini, Ludovico (b. Florence 1523, d. 1589, Italian, 
fairly impartial), Descrittione di tutti i Paesi Bassi. 1 v., 4to. In 
Anversa, 1581. 

Harrison, Frederic, William the Silent. 1 v., 8vo. London 
1897. 

Historisch Genootschap te Utrecht. In the works published by 
this society are numerous valuable articles. The series are: 
Kroniek, 6 series, 30 v., 1846-1875. Berigten, 7 vols., 1846-1863. 
Codex diplomaticus, 1st series, 1 v., 1842; 2d series, 6 vols., 
1852-1863. Bijdragen en Mededeelingen, 24 vols., 1877-1903. 
Werken, 84 vols. 

Hooft, Pieter Cornelisz. (b. Amsterdam 1581, d. 1647, 
Hollander and Protestant), Nederlandsche historien. 1 v., 
folio. Amsterdam, 1656. 

Huizinga, J., De vergadering der Staten-General op July 10 
1584 na den noen. Bijdragen voor Vaderlandische Geschie- 
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Hume, Martin A. S. (alsp editor of Calendar), Philip II. of 
Spain. 1 v. London, 1902. 

Jacobs, Dr., Ed., Juliana von Stolberg, Ahnfrau des Hauses 
Nassau-Oranien. 1 v., 8vo. Wernigerode, 1889. 

Kervyn de Lettenhove, 'Baron J. M. B. C. Documents 
inedits relatifs ci V histoire du XVP siecle. 1 v., 8vo. Bruxelles, 
1858. 

Les huguenots et les gueux (1560-1585). 6 vols., 8vo. 

Bruges, 1 883-1 885. 

Relations politiqiies des Pays-Bas et de VAngleterre sous le 

rlgne de Philippe II. 11 vols., 4to. 1892-1900. 



504 Bibliography 

Kluit, A., Historie der Hollandsche staaisregering tot het jaar 
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Knuttel, Dr. W. P. C, Catalogus van de pamfletten verza- 
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Lijst van Engelsche vlugschriften betrekking hebbende op de 

Nederlandsche geschiedenis tot 1640. s'Gravenhage, 1886. 

Lacroix, Albert (editor), Apologie de Guillaume de Nassau, 
Justification, etc. 1 v., i2mo. Bruxelles, 1858. 

La Pise, Joseph de (b. Orange 1589, d. 1648), Tableau de 
rhistoire des princes et de la principaute a" Orange. 1 v., folio. 
La Haye, 1639. 

Lenz, Max, Brief wechsel Landgraf Philipp's des Grossmiitigen 
mit Bucer. 2 vols., 8vo. 1887. 

Marnix, Philippe, Seigneur de Sainte-Aldegonde (b. Brussels 
1538, d. Leiden 1598, Ultra-Protestant and Nationalist), CEuvres 
de [Lacroix ed.]. 2 v., 8vo. Paris, i860. 

MEMOIRES 

Memoires et Correspondance de Duplessis-Mornay (Philippe, 
Seigneur du Plessis-Marly, b. 1549, d. 1623. French Protestant, 
resident in Netherlands 1581-1582). Edition complete, 12 v., 
8vo. Paris, 1824. 

Memoires de Claude Haton, cure du Meriot 1 553-1 582 (b. 1534, 
d. after 1605. French priest, soldier, and writer). Ed. Felix 
Bourquelot. 1 v., Paris, 1857. 

Memoires de Michel de la Huguerye (b. 1545, Protestant and 
devoted to Louis of Nassau). 3 v., 8vo. Paris, 1877. 

Memoires de Marguerite de Valois (b. 1553, d. 161 5) [ed. 
Ludovic Lalann]. 1 v., 241110. Paris, 1858. 

Memoires de la vie de Frangois Scepeaux, sire de Vieilleville 
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Memoires de Pasquier de la bane, 1 565-1567 (official at Tour- 
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Memoires sur les troubles des Pays-Bas, 1 576-1 578. Martin 
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Bibliography 505 

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Mendoca, B. (d. after 1600, Spanish and Catholic), Commen- 
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Philadelphe, Eusebe (pseudonym), La reveille — matin des 
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Pirenne, Henri (Professor at Ghent), Histoire de Belgique. 
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Historisches Taschenbuch (editor). Vol. vii. Leipzig, 1836. 

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506 Bibliography 

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INDEX 
(contents of letters not included) 



Abjuration of Philip II., 405 et 
seq. 

Aerschot, Duchess of, 54, 88 

Aerschot, Duke of, 157, 169, 
354 et passim 

Aerssens, pensionary of Brus- 
sels, 468 

Albornoz, Juan de, 247 

Albret, Jeanne d\ 300; letters 
to Charlotte, 303, 312, 313; 
her death, 313 

Alcabala, the, 230 

Alcala, University of, 361 

Alkmaar, siege of, 243 et pas- 
sim 

Alost seized by Spanish mu- 
tineers, 341 

Alva, Duke of, 68, 70, 71, 189, 
200, 204; letter to Philip II., 
206; and the tenth penny, 
229 et seq.; opinion about 
the Brill, 231; and Estates, 
248; retires, 249, 250; men- 
tioned, 350, 492 et passim 

Amsterdam, troubles in, 178, 
etc - > 353 ei passim 

Anastro, Caspar d', 421 

Anjou, Duke of (Francois Her- 
cules of Valois, Duke of 
Alencon), 355, 365, 375, 409, 
411 et seq., 413, 437, 441, 
444; death of, 451 

Anne of Lorraine, 15, etc. 

Antwerp, population of, 170; 
Cathedral restored, 176; 
French Fury in, 440; offers 



public honours to Orange, 
449 ; 458 et passim 

Aremberg, Duke of, 135, 169, 
198 et passim 

Assonleville, Councillor d\ 
468 

Aub6ry, Louis, Sr. du Maurier, 
78, 472 

Aumont, Sieur d', 312 

Austria, Don John of , birth and 
fortunes, 337; appointed re- 
gent of Netherlands, 338; 
his dream of rescuing Mary 
Stuart, 338; arrives in Lux- 
emburg, 339; in Netherlands, 
350 et seq. ; his sincerity, 352 ; 
falls ill, 383; dies a disap- 
pointed man, 384 

Austria, Margaret of, regent of 
the Netherlands, 12 

Austria, Margaret of, Duchess 
of Parma, regent of the 
Netherlands, 76, 78; letter 
to Philip II., 132; her em- 
barrassments, 140, 153 et 
seq.; receives the petition 
(1566), 165; anxiety about 
the preaching, 178; refuses 
Prince's resignation, 180; 
tries to stop Alva's coming, 
189 

Austria, Matthias of, 369, 375 
et passim 

Averly, George d', 305, 310, 

431 

Averly, Francois d', Sr. de 

Minay, 305, 431 
Avila, Sancho d\ 258 



507 



508 



Index 



B 



Bartholdus Wilhelmi, 244 
Bartholomew, St., massacre of, 

237, 240 et passim, 312 
"Beggars of the Sea," 223 
Bentivoglio, 438 
Berghes, Count de, 395 
Bergues, Marquis de, 152 
Berlaymont, Count de, 135, 

169 et passim 
Berlepsch, Volmar von, 208 

et seq. 
Bernard, Hans, 58 
Biron, Marshal de, 464 
Bishops in the Netherlands, 

116 et seq. 
Boisot, Admiral, 254, 268 et 

passim, 276 
Bonnard, Claude, 298 et passim 
Bossu, Count van (Maximil- 
ian de Hennin), 233 
Botelli, Leonardo, 425 
Bourbon, Anthony de, 300 
Bourbon, Francois de, 330 
Bourbon, Louis de, Duke of 
Montpensier, 297 ; marries 
a second time, 303 ; anger at 
Charlotte's flight, 307 ; letter 
to Elector Palatine, 307 ; 429, 
458 
Bourbon, Louise de, abbess 
of Farmoutiers, writes to 
Orange, 330 
Bouton, Claude, 35 
Brabant, Estates of, call a con- 
vention, 343; Ruward of, 
369 ; title of duke offered to 
Orange, 445 
Brandenburg, Hans of, 109 
Brantdme quoted, 339 
Breda, 35 et passim; peace 
conference at, 294; evacu- 
ated, 367 
Brederode, Henry van, 151, 

161 et seq. 
Brett, Marie, 310 
Brill, the, captured, 223 et seq. 
Brunynck, letters to Count 
John, 279 



Brussels, 52 et passim; coup 

d'etat at, 342 
Bucer, Martin, 36 
Buren, Count of, see Egmont, 

Philip, etc. 
Burleigh, Lord, 474 
Buys, Paul, 347 



Calendar, reform of the, 435 

Calvin quoted, 472 

Camarilla, the, 115 

Capet, M., 325 

Caron, Noel, Lord of Schoon- 
val, 464 

Catherine of Lorraine (Duch- 
ess of Montpensier), 430 

Catherine de' Medici, 245, 292, 
442, 475 et passim 

Catzenellenbogen lawsuit, 18 
et passim 

Cayas, Gabriel de, 248 

Cecil, Lord, 175 

Chabot, Jeanne, 298 et passim 

Champagny, Seignior of (Je- 
rome Perrenot), 37, 40, 354 
et passim 

Charles the Bold, 10 

Charles V., 1, 12, 52; abdica- 
tion, 54 et seq.; 82, 87 et 
passim 

Chiericati, Bishop, 2 

Cleves, Duke of, 64 

Clough, Richard, letter, 105 

Coligny, Gaspard de, Admiral 
of France, 145, 203, 432, 
477,480 et passim 

Cologne, archbishop of, 41, 117; 
refugees at, 209; negotia- 
tions at, 387 

Compromise of Nobles, 161 , etc. 

Conde, Duke of, 291 

Council of State at Brussels, 
340 

Council of Troubles, 192, etc. 

Cromwell, Oliver, 482 

Cronenburg, Hartmuth of, 21 

Crue, C£cile, 298 et passim 

Culemburg, Count, 161 



Index 



509 



Dathenus, Pierre, 386 

Delft, church at, 285 

Denmark, King of, 450, 490 

Dillenburg Castle, 27 et pas- 
sim, 207, 400 et passim 

Does, Jan van der (Janus 
Douza) 272 et seq. 

Don Carlos, 69 

Don Frederic of Toledo, 238, 
243, 250, 271 > 

Douay, University at, 127 

Dupr6, 461, 463 



Egmont, abbey of, 120 
Egmont, Countess of, 54 
Egmont, Lamoral of, 59, 123; 
letter to Philip, 131 ; 138, 184, 
190; trial, 199; death, 200 
Egmont, Maximilian of, Count 
of Buren, 37 et seq., 41 et seq. 
Egmont, Walpurga of, 26 
Elector Palatine, 306; letter 

to Charlotte's father, 306 
Elizabeth of England, 225, 227 
et passim, 411, 416, 437,485 
Elizabeth of Valois, 69, 76 
Erasmus, Desiderius, 2 et pas- 
sim, 33 
Escherenne, 57, 58 
Este, Isabella d\ 2 et seq. 



Farmoutiers, abbess of, 309 

Farnese, Alexander, Prince of 
Parma, 153, 357; succeeds 
Don John, 384; 390; receives 
deserters, 394; 433, 455, 471 

Feugheran, M., 325 

Florida, 477 et seq. 

Foreest, Dr. Petrus van, 276 et 
seq., 425, 469 

Francesca of Savoy, 14 

Francis I. of France, 12 et 
passim, 16 

Francis II., 76 



Gachard, Louis Prosper, 489 

Gembloux, battle of, 371 et 
passim 

Genlis, 205 

Gerard, Balthasar, 457 et seq. 

Get, offers to kill Orange, 456 
et seq. 

Ghent, pacification of, 333 et 
se Q.-i 347; sea -t of Assembly, 
I 57 6 » 346; enters Union of 
Utrecht, 386; troubles in, 
387 et passim 

Glippers, the, 274 

Golden Fleece, Order of the, 
22, 77, 172 

Gomez, Ruy, 70 

Gonzaga, 17 

Gorcum, martyrs of, 232 

Granvelle, Cardinal (Anthony 
Perrenot, Bishop of Ar- 
ras), 38; and the Prince's 
first marriage, 41; as diplo- 
mat, 70 et passim; letter to, 
72; influence over Orange, 
84; opinion on Saxon mar- 
riage, 91 et seq.; letters to 
Philip II., 97, 131, 132, 159, 
186; friction with Nether- 
landers (1560-63), 114 et 
passim, 135, etc., 147 ; created 
cardinal, 123; departs, 142; 
letters to, 150, 155, 156, 
158; objects to States-Gen- 
eral without Philip, 160; 
advises death of Nassaus, 
247; rejoices at news of 
Prince's death, 423, 433, 471 

Gresham, Sir Thomas, 175; 
letter to Cecil, 182 

Guelderland, 379, 396 et pas- 
sim 

Gueux adopted as name, 167 

Guion, Frangois, 461, 462 

Guises, the, 303 



H 



Haagpreek, 168 



5io 



Index 



Haarlem, diocese of, 120; siege 
of, 240, 243 et passim 

Hadamar, 101 

Hadrian Junius, 279 

Hainault, 379 et passim 

Halfleiden, Jan, 273 

Hames, Nicholas de, letter to 
Louis, 164 

Hanau, Philip of, 26 

Heiden, Gaspar van der, 325 

Heiligerlee, 204, 259 et passim 

Henry II. of France, 44, 59, 
70, 76, 484 

Henry VIII. of England, 11 

Henry of Navarre, 450, 485, 
490 

Herlle (William Herle), 418 

Hesse, Philip, Landgrave of, 
20, 93, 127, 129, 133 

Hesse, William, Landgrave of, 
176, 198, 220, 252, 257, 324, 
326 

Heze, Seignior de, 342 et seq. 

Hildesheim, 144 

Hohenlohe, Count Albert of, 
281, 319, etc. 

Holl, George von, 152, 197 

Holland, Estates of, in 1572, 
234; give new powers and 
allowance to Orange, 290; 
closer union with Zealand, 
2 95, 335, etc.; and count- 
ship, 454, 481 et passim 

Holstein-Schauenburg, Adolph 
of, 35 

Hooft quoted, 244, etc. 

Hooft, C. P., 454 

Hoogstraaten, Count of, 77, 
164, 194, 205 

Home, Count of, letter to 
Philip II., 131, 184: trial, 
199; death, 200, 261 

Hout, Jan van, 273 

Huguerye, Michel de la, 239, 
256, 291, et seq., 314 



Iconoclasts, 174 
Isenburg, Amelia of, 30 



Jacqueline of Holland (Jacoba 

of Bavaria), 10 
Jarnac, battle of, 206 
Jaureguy, Jean, 419 et seq. ; his 

successors, 455 
Johanna of Polanen, 10 
Junius, Francis, 161 



Keppel, nunnery at, 24 
Konigstein, 27 
Konigstein, Philip von, 30 



Lafontaine, Michelle de, 301 
Lalaing, George de, Count of 

Rennenberg, 114, 396 
Lammen, fort of, 284 
Languet, Hubert, 391 
La Pise, Joseph de, 70 
La Rochelle, 228 et passim 
Laval, M. de, 417 
Legaspi, 476 
Leicester, Earl of, 415 
Leiden, siege of, 251, 271 et 

seq. ; University of, 386 
Leiderdorp, 284 
Leoninus, Elbertus, 184 
Liebart, Barthelemy, 487 
Liege, bishopric of, 143 
Lincoln, Abraham, 482 et seq. 
Line of Demarcation, 6 
Lion Petit, 432 
Lodron, Count, 193 
Long-vie, Jacqueline de, 297, 

300 et passim 
Lorich, 141, 143 
Lorraine, Catherine de, 303 
Lorraine, Duchess of, 68 
Lou vain, University of, 147, 

194, etc. 
Lumey, William de, Baron de 

la Marck, 224, 227 et pas- 
sim 
Luther, Martin, 2, 8, 20 et 

passim 



Index 



5ii 



M 

Magellan, Ferdinand, 1 et seq. 

Mansfield, Count, 161, 169, 461 

Marck, Henry _ Robert de la, 
Duke of Bouillon, 297 

Marie, Queen of Hungary, re- 
gent of the Netherlands, 
32 et seq. 

Marnix, Jean de, Sr. de Tho- 
louse, 181, 197 

Marnix, Philip, Seignior of 
St e . Aldegonde, 161; repre- 
sents Orange in 1572, 234 et 
seq.-, urges submission, 251; 
goes to Heidelberg for uni- 
versity professors, 315; es- 
corts Charlotte to Holland, 
322; represents Orange at 
Ghent, 347 et seq.-, sees 
baptism of Frederick Henry, 
451 ; conference with Orange, 

451 

Mars, John, English ambas- 
sador dismissed from Span- 
ish court, 227 

Mary of Burgundy, 1 1 

Mary of England 69 

Mary Stuart, 76, 303, 338 

Matthias, 369, 411 

Maurice of Saxony, 92 et pas- 
sim 

Maximilian, Emperor, 11; for- 
bids Prince's levies, 203; 
mentioned et passim 

Mayence, Archbishop of, 25 

Medina Cceli, Duke of, 132 

Meghen, Count of, 169 

Meixnern, Dr. John, 197 

Menendez, Pedro, 478 et seq. 

M£rode, Johann van, 35 

Meteren, Emmanuel van, 420 

Michael, Jacob, 325 

Middelburg, treasure at, 281 

Miggrodus, Jan, 325 

Molinet, Anne du, 301 

Mondragon, 258 

Montesquieu, 472 

Montfort, Dirk van, 285 

Montigny, 77, 104 



Mook Heath, battle of, 253 
et seq.', after the, 265 

Morgan, Captain, 466 

Morillon, Provost, 125; letters 
to Granvelle, 155, 156, 158, 
336, 340, 347 

Mousson, Jeanne de, 301 



N 



Namur seized, 355 

Nassau, 9 et passim 

Nassaa Church Regulations, 
22 

Nassau-Dillenburg, 9 

Nassau family, 8 et seq. 

Nassau, Adolph of, 136, 185; 
death at Heiligerlee, 198 

Nassau, Anne of, 297, 366, 490 
et passim 

Nassau, Catherine of, 98 

Nassau, Catherine Belgia of, 
428, 490 

Nassau, Charlotte Brabantina 
of, 428, 490 

Nassau, Charlotte Flandrina 
of, 428, 490 

Nassau, Countesses of (by mar- 
riage): Claudia of Orange- 
Chalons, 14; Cunigunde of 
the Palatinate, 401; Eliza- 
beth of Hesse, 19; Eliza- 
beth, Landgravine of 
Leuchtenberg, 185 et pas- 
sim, 268; her death, 396; 
Juliana of Stolberg, see 
Juliana; Menzia, 15 

Nassau, Emilie of, 210, 297, 
400, 458 

Nassau, Engelbert of, 9, 10 et 
passim 

Nassau, Frederick Henry of, 
birth and baptism, 450, 490 

Nassau, Henry of, mentioned, 
10, 11, 14, 17 et passim 

Nassau, Henry of (brother to 
Orange), 136, 142, 143, 145, 
258, 265 

Nassau, John of, 10, 11 

Nassau, John VI. of (brother 



512 



Index 



Nassau — Continued 
of Orange), 63; letter to 
Louis, 64; becomes head of 
family, 79; in Dresden, 107; 
his letters, 136; anxious 
about Henry's career, 143; 
at Dillenburg, 185 et pas- 
sim, 239; escapes battle of 
Mook Heath, 258; letter 
about Orange's marriage, 
324; disapproval and ac- 
ceptance, 321, 324, 331; 
arrives in Holland, 367; ac- 
cepts governorship of Guel- 
derland, 374; letter to Dr. 
Schwartz, 396; resigns office, 
401; distrusts French al- 
liance, 425 et passim 

Nassau, Louis of, third son, 31 ; 
at Breda, 63 ; first office, 65 ; 
aids Orange, 79; mission to 
Dresden, 101; letter to 
Orange, 129, 130, etc., 134; 
letter to landgrave, 133, 135, 
138; letters to, 143; at Spa, 
151 et seq.; and the Com- 
promise, 161; and the con- 
federates, 174; declared 
disturber of peace, 194; 
victory at Heiligerlee, 198; 
difficulties, 200; defeat at 
Jemmigen, 201; and the 
French, 206, 237 ; submits to 
Alva, 238; and Charles IX., 
245; plans for invasion, 252; 
and Anjou, 254; plans con- 
verting the bishops, 256; 
compared to "angel Gabriel," 
265; expedition of, 258; de- 
feated at Mook Heath, 259; 
his character, 260 et seq.; 
his Apology, 262; mentioned, 
315 et passim 

Nassau, Louise Juliana of, 359, 
428 

Nassau, Marie of, birth, 62; 
maid of honour, 145; with- 
drawn from court, 184; at 
Dillenburg, 331 et passim; 
her letters, 362, 363 et 



seq. ; returnstb Netherlands, 
366; letters to Count John, 

37ir 373, 375, 424, 425; 
mentioned, 399, 458, etc. 

Nassau, Maurice of, 269, 332, 
360, 417, 470, 490, 492 

Nassau, Philip William of, 
birth, 62; farewell to his 
father, 184; left at Lou- 
vain, 184; greets Alva, 189; 
taken to Spain, 192 et seq.; 
letter to Count John, 361 ; 
mentioned, 470, 490, etc. 

Nassau, Rene of (Prince of 
Orange), 14 et passim; death 
of , 17 ; mentioned, 77, 87, etc. 

Nassau, William of, the elder 
or the Rich, 11 et seq., 18, 
etc. ; death of, 79 ; mentioned, 
261 

Nassau, William Louis of, 269 

Navarre, Henry of, mentioned, 
291, 305; godfather to Fred- 
erick Henry, 450, 490 

New Netherland, 486 

Noircarmes, Ph. de, 184, 252 
et passim 

Noord Aa, 283 

Nootdorp, 282 



Orange, 86, etc.; heresy in, 126 
Orange, Philibert of, 14 et pas- 
sim, 87 
Orange, Prince of (William, 
Count of Nassau, Catzenel- 
lenbogen, etc., called le taci- 
turne or the Silent), and 
Philip II., 7; his family, 8 et 
seq.; inheritance, 10 et seq.; 
birth and childhood, 30 et 
seq.; Apology quoted, 33, 
40, 52, 70, 74; education, 35; 
betrothal to Anna of Eg- 
mont, 37; orthodoxy, 38; 
marriage, 40, 46; reported 
visit to France, 44 ; his danc- 
ing, 45; first commission 
(1551), 46; letters to his 



Index 



513 



Orange — Continued 
wife, 47-54. 56, 57. 59 J at 
emperor's abdication, 55 ; 
councillor of state, 56; re- 
monstrates with Philip II., 
58; tries to raise loan, 60; 
loses first wife (1558), 60; let- 
ters on Anna's death, 60-62 ; 
his children, 62; relations to 
wife and family 62 et seq.; 
part in treaty of Cateau- 
Cambresis, 67 et seq.; letter 
to Emmanuel Philibert of 
Savoy, 68; at Paris as host- 
age (1559), 7i; letter to 
Anthony Perrenot, 72; in 
the forest of Vincennes with 
Henry II., 73; his name, le 
taciturne, 75; return to Brus- 
sels, 76; appointed stadt- 
holder of Holland, Zealand, 
and Utrecht, 77 ; strained re- 
lations with Philip II., 78; 
loses his father (1559), 79; 
letter to Count Louis, 79; 
his status and character, 81 
et seq.; relations with An- 
thony Perrenot, 84 et pas- 
sim; his property, 86 et seq. ; 
his financial embarrassments 
and lavishness, 89, et seq.; 
desires second marriage, 91 
et seq.; letter to Count of 
Schwarzburg (1560), 98; 
urges Estates to grant sup- 
plies, 98; letters to Count 
Louis, 100; relation with Ger- 
many and with king in re 
religion, 102; wedding festiv- 
ities, 105, et seq.; pledge in re 
religion of Anne of Saxony, 
109; brings wife to Brussels, 
no; breach with Anthony 
Perrenot, 112 et seq.; his 
changed position, 116 et 
seq.; his attitude towards 
Protestantism in Orange, 
126; letter to Pius IV. (1 561), 
T26; first child by Anne of 
Saxony, 128; absence at 



Frankfort, 128; makes pro- 
test to Philip with Egmont 
and Home, 131 ; judged dan- 
gerous by Granvelle, 132, 
139 et passim; letters to 
Count Louis, 134, 136, 141, 
143, 162; plans for Count 
Henry show theological in- 
difference, 143; places his 
daughter Marie in court, 
145 ; desires three measures of 
reform (1564), 146; advice to 
Count Louis, 152; advises 
execution of royal orders 
(1565), 154; distrusted by 
people, 160; letter to regent, 
162; offers resignation, 163; 
advises toleration after peti- 
tion (1566), 165 et seq.; at 
the "Beggars' " supper, 167; 
at Antwerp, 169 et seq.; let- 
ter to regent, 171; letter to 
William of Hesse, 176; tries 
to calm troubles at Amster- 
dam, 178; refuses new oath, 
179; resignation declined, 
180; and Tholouse, 182; ac- 
cused of duplicity, 183; let- 
ter to Philip (April 10, 
1567), 183; goes to Ger- 
many, 184; life at Dillen- 
burg, 185 et seq.; troubles 
with Anne, 186 et passim; 
asks for religious instruc- 
tion, 189; cited to appear be- 
fore Council of Troubles, 
194; negligence about his 
son, 194; his Justification, 
195; letter to William of 
Hesse, 196; plans three at- 
tacks on Netherlands (1568), 
198; letter to Louis after 
Jemmigen, _ 201 ; proclama- 
tion, 203; his standards, 203; 
crosses the Meuse, 204; 
retreats to Strasburg, 206; 
his years of wandering, 206; 
letters to Count John, 207, 
217; his ciphers, 207; letters 
to Anne, 210, 215; hopes to 



514 



Index 



Orange — Continued 

keep her affairs quiet, 217; 
establishes navy, 223, etc.; 
sees chance in Alva's taxes, 
231; activity after the cap- 
ture of the Brill, 232; acts 
as Stadtholder again, 233 
et seq. ; his executive powers 
(1572), 235; letters to Count 
John, 235, 237, 241 ; defeated 
at Hermigny, 238; re-enters 
Holland, 239; conditions of 
reconciliation with Philip II., 
241; letter to Count Louis, 
242 ; professes Calvinism 
( I 573)» 2 43; distrusts the 
French, 242, 247 et pas- 
sim; efforts to raise money, 
248; epistle to king, 249; re- 
pudiates advice to lay down 
arms, 251; letters from 
Flushing (1574), 253, 254; 
Stadtholdership tacitly ac- 
knowledged when Middel- 
burg surrendered, 255 et 
seq. ; anxiety about brothers, 
265; his frantic letters, 265; 
long ignorance of disaster 
of Mook Heath, 266, etc.; 
accepts fact April 2 2d, 268; 
letters to Count John, 269; 
plans relief of Leiden, 275; 
falls ill, 276; treated by 
Dr. van Foreest, 276 et 
seq.; condition reported by 
Brunynck, 279; able to 
write to Count John, 280; 
depressed, 281; writes to 
Leiden, 281 ; visits fleet, 283; 
receives news of relief at 
church, 285; visits Leiden, 
285; establishes university, 
286; defines his status, 288; 
accepts supremacy in Hol- 
land, 290; insists on proper 
income, 290; method of 
procedure described by La 
Huguerye, 291 ; negotiations 
with Spain, 293 et seq.; can- 
not accept conditions, 294; 



insists on toleration clause 
in articles of union, 295; 
decides on new matrimonial 
alliance (1575), 296; atti- 
tude towards Anne of Sax- 
ony, 297 et seq.; chooses 
Charlotte of Bourbon as 
wife, 297; his personal 
knowledge of Charlotte, 315; 
sends Mar nix to Heidel- 
berg to make his proposal, 
315; reasons against the al- 
liance, 316 et passim; sends 
Count Hohenlohe to Heid- 
elberg, 319; his minute in- 
structions, 320;offends Count 
John, 321; announces mar- 
riage, 323; accepts act of 
ministers as legal justifica- 
tion, 325; explains himself to 
Count John, 327; appeals to 
Francois de Bourbon, 330; 
unable to repay Count John, 
331; his daughter Marie, 
332, 362 et passim; takes 
advantage of Requesens' 
death in 1576, 334; receives 
added powers from Hol- 
land and Zealand, 335; his 
ambition, 336; superhuman 
exertions, 341; his efforts at 
toleration, 342; his relation 
to the coup d'etat, 343; let- 
ter to States-General, 344; 
succeeds in obtaining pro- 
vincial congress, 346; re- 
presented by Ste. Aldegonde 
at Ghent, 347; pleased with 
Pacification of Ghent, 349; 
cognisant of all negotiations 
with Don John, 350; dis- 
trusts Don John, 352; ex- 
tends his own influence, 
353; rated by Don John, 
354; makes Capital from Don 
John's errors, 356; enters 
Brussels after ten^ years' 
absence, 356; his me- 
thods not always good, 357; 
his family background, 358; 



Index 



515 



Orange — Continued 

finds Charlotte a helpmate, 
359 et seq. ; letters to Count 
John, 359, 368; his oppor- 
tunism, 360; letters from 
Charlotte, 360, 367, 370 et 
passim; his mother (1577), 
362; plans for his children, 
365; Ruward of Brabant, 
369; reception of Matthias, 
369; needs his brother, 370; 
letter to Charlotte, 376; 
obtains Religious Peace, 379; 
part in the Union of Utrecht, 
380, 382 et seq.-, belief in 
the _ Confederation, 383 ; in 
Paris pantomime, 385; criti- 
cised by ultra-Protestants, 
386; answers criticism, 387; 
refuses terms offered by- 
Philip, 387 ; price set on head 
(theBan, 1 580) , 389 ; A pology, 
391, et seq.; letter to States- 
General, 393; supported by 
the States, 394; attacked by 
calumny, 394; loses many 
friends, 395 et seq.; last 
letter to Juliana of Stolberg, 
399; loses his mother, 400; 
disregards John's warnings, 
402; insists on Anjou as 
"Protector," 405, 412 et 
passim; approves abjuration 
of Philip, 405; governor pro 
tern, 409; at Anjou's in- 
auguration, 415; shot by 
Jaureguy, 417 et seq.; tries 
to protect the French, 423; 
relapse, 425; recovery, 427; 
loses Charlotte de Bourbon, 
427 ; sees Anjou made Count 
of Flanders, 432; exposed to 
danger, 432 ; difficulties with 
Anjou, 437; last interview 
with Anjou, 439; declares 
treachery "a misunderstand- 
ing," 441; answers Elizabeth 
and Catherine, 443; reluct- 
ant to discard the French, 
444; advocacy evokes criti- 



cism, 445; fourth marriage, 
446 et seq.; not daunted by 
anti-French feeling, 448 ; 
indignant at Antwerp's dis- 
trust, 449; establishes his 
family at Delft, 450; cele- 
brates baptism of his young- 
est child, 450; demands 
inauguration as Count of 
Holland, 451; opposed by 
C. P. Hooft, 454; exposed to 
dangers, 455; his house- 
hold at Delft in the Prin- 
senhof, 457; his bitterness, 
458; receives announcement 
of Anjou's death, 459; treat- 
ment of "Guion," 460, etc.; 
his last words and death, 
466; his appearance and 
age, 469; his funeral, 470; his 
foes rejoice, 47 1 et seq. ; his 
relations with Philip, 473 et 
seq. ; compared with Coligny, 
480; compared with Crom- 
well and Lincoln, 482; com- 
pared with Washington, 
Elizabeth and Henry 
of Navarre, 485; his toler- 
ation, 486; his need for 
sympathy, 488 ; his ' ' silence ' ' 
489; his children's names, 
490; his luxury and courage, 
491; his statesmanship, 492; 
as Father of his Country, 
493 
Orange, Princesses of: 

1 — Anna of Egmont, 37, 
40, 46; letters to, 47 et seq.; 
death, 60 et seq. 

2 — Anne of Saxony, her 
family 92 et seq. ; as a wife, 
124 et passim; letter to her 
grandfather, 127; her first 
child, 128; resents emigra- 
tion, 186; her conduct and 
deterioration, 187, et seq.; at 
Cologne, 208 et seq. ; intimacy 
with Jan Rubens, 215; letter 
to Jan Rubens, 216; letter 
to Count John, 218; at Beil- 



516 



Index 



Orange — Continued 

stein, 219; removed to 
Dresden and death 222, 
296; divorce from Prince, 
323 et passim 

3 — Charlotte de Bourbon 
mentioned, 256; parentage, 
297; takes vows as child, 
298; abbess of Jouarre, 299; 
appeals to Jeanne d'Albret, 
303; leaves Jouarre, 305; at 
Heidelberg, 306 et seq.; 
plans in behalf of, 315; the 
object ions, 316 et seq.; 
accepts proposal of 
Orange, 317; arrives at the 
Brill, 325; married at Dor- 
drecht, 326; writes to Juli- 
ana of Stolberg, 327; has to 
meet criticism, 329 et seq.; 
her sister reconciled, 330; 
her value to the Prince, 358 
et seq.; her first child, 359; 
letters to Orange, 360, 366, 
367, 370; pleasant relations 
with step-daughters, 364 et 
passim; letters to Juliana of 
Stolberg, 399; to her sister- 
in-law, 402 ; despair at Jau- 
reguy's crime, 422; suc- 
cumbs to strain, 426; her 
death, 427; her children, 
428; her will, 431 

4 — Louise de Coligny, 
(Mme. de Teligny) , her story, 
446; married to Orange, 
448; her journey to Delft, 
450; gives birth to son, 
450; notices Gerard, 465 

Ostrawell, 181 

Ottonian branch of Nassau 
family, 9 



Palatinate, the, John Casimir 
of, 252, 375 et passim; Chris- 
topher of, 258 et seq. ; Cuni- 
gunde of, 397, 401 

Palatine, Frederick, Elector, 



,246; receives Charlotte de 
Bourbon, 306 et seq. 

Paraclet, Abbess of, 298, etc. 

Paris, pantomime at, 385 

Pero Lopez, letter to Granvelle, 
158 

Perthuis, Catherine de, 310 

Pfeffinger Dr., 109 

Philip II. of Spain, the fortun- 
ate prince, 7; and Orange, 
7, 45 et passim; succeeds 
Charles V., 55; makes 
Orange councillor of state, 
56; neglects soldiers' needs, 
58 et passim; assumes of- 
fensive in France, 59; con- 
doles with Orange on Anna 
of Egmont's death, 61 ; mar- 
riage to Elizabeth of Valois, 
69 et seq.; appoints Mar- 
garet of Parma his regent 
for the Netherlands, 76; 
displeased with nobles' op- 
position, 77; angry fare- 
well to Orange, 78; his 
opinion of the Saxon mar- 
riage, 96 et seq. ; sends proxy 
and present, 104; his rela- 
tions with Granvelle, 112 
et seq.; apparently favours 
nobles, 114; and the new 
sees, 117 et seq.; willing to 
a i d Netherland churches 
with Spanish funds, 120; re- 
ceives Montigny pleasantly, 
131; his debts, 140; with- 
draws Granvelle from 
Netherlands, 141 ; reasons 
for new sees, 148; orders 
enforcement of edicts of 
Council of Trent, 154 et seq.; 
approves regent's course in 
1566, 170; demands new 
oath of fealty, 179; is ap- 
pealed to by Anne of Saxony, 
210; and Elizabeth of Eng- 
land, 225; his ambassador, 
226; refuses to recall Alva, 
229; comment on Coligny, 
248; recalls Alva, 249; 



Index 



517 



Philip II. — Continued 

appoints Requesens, 249; 
named as founder of Leiden 
University, 286; delays ac- 
tion after Requesens' death, 
334 et seq.', appoints Don 
John, 337 ; disapproves 
seizure of Namur, 355 ; neg- 
lects Don John, 383; con- 
firms Parma's appointment, 
384; publishes Ban against 
Orange, 388, 390; attacked 
by Orange, 392 et seq.; ab- 
jured as sovereign, 407; and 
Orange, summaries, 475 
Philippine Islands, 1, 5, 476 
Pigafetta, Antonio, 3 et seq. 
Poland, king of, 246, 315 
Polanen, Johanna of, 10 
Ponika, Hans von, 107 
Pontus Payen quoted, 181 et 

passim 
Pope Alexander VI., 6 
Pope Gregory XIII. , 436 
Pope Paul IV., 118, 123 
Pope Pius IV, 126 
Portugal, Maria of, 153 
Prior of St. John, 190 
Pruneaux, M. des, 417 



Requesens, Don Luis de, 249 
et seq., 255, 261; his death, 
334; mentioned, 492 
Rheims, archbishop of, 117 
Rheineck, Philip von, 30 
Ribault, Jean, 477 et seq. 
Riedsel, Volbrecht, 191 
Romans, king of the, 128 
Romero, Julian, 238, 254, 

294 
Rossem, Martin van, 16 
Roubaix, Capt., 456 
Rubens, John, 215, 216, etc. 
Ruze\ bishop of Angers, 298 
Ruward of Brabant, 369 
Rytberg, Mile, de, 129 



Ste. Aldegonde, see Marnix 

St. Andre, Marshal, 67, 70 

Ste. Gudule, 128 

St. Trond, 170 

Sarrot, Radegonde, 310 

Savoy, Emmanuel Philibert, 
Duke of, 52, 68, 76 et pas- 
sim 

Saxony, Augustus, Elector of, 
92 et seq., 107, 220, etc. 

Saxony, Duke Hans Frederick 
of, 21 

Saxony, Maurice of, 46, 97, 
etc. 

Scepeaux, Francois de, Mar- 
quis de Vieilleville, 44, etc. 

Schauenberg, Count Ernest 
of, 398, 400 

Schauenberg, William of, 144, 

145 

Schetz, Gaspar, Sr. de Grob- 

bendonck, 128, 137 
Schmalkald, league of, 22 
Schomberg, Gaspar, 329 
Schoore, president of council, 

33 
Schwarzburg, Gunther, Count 

of, 95 et passim 
Schwarzburg, Catherine of, 

428, 458, 466 et passim 
Schwartz, Dr., advice to Count 

John, 402 
Segwaert, 282 
Sidney, Philip, 391, 415 
Siegen, 215 et passim 
Silva, Guzman de, 225 
Sluis, 228 et passim 
Solms-Braunfels, Count and 

Countess of, 400 
Spa, 150, 355, etc. 
Spain (1909), 479 et seq. 
Spanish Fury, 347 
Spanish soldiers, mutiny of, 

268 
Spes, Guereau de, 226 
States-General, 135, etc.; de- 
clare Don John a public foe, 



5i8 



Index 



370; and the Apology, 393 
et seq.; in 1584, 481 

Stochem, 204 

Stolberg, Juliana of, Countess 
of Hanau, 26; Countess of 
Nassau, 27 et seq.; and her 
children, 28; mentioned, 63, 
104, 143, 184 et passim, 362, 
364; falls ill, 399; her death, 
400 et seq.; her namesakes, 
401, 490 

Strada quoted, 171 et passim 

Stuart, Mary, mentioned, 225, 
303» 338 et passim 



Taffin, John, 201, 325 
Terranova, Duke of, 388 
Tholen, island of, 333 
Thou, President de, 312 
Tontorf, Mme., 431 
Treaty of Bordeaux, 405; Ca- 

teau Cambresis 67, 69, et 

seq.; Marche-en-Famine,350; 

Passau, 24; Plessis les Tours, 

405; Tordesillas, 6 
Trent, Council of, 148, 151 

et passim 
Tylius, Thomas, 325 



U 



Union of Arras, 381 

Union of Brussels (1677), 352 

Union of Utrecht, 380 et seq. 

Utrecht, 118 

Uylenburgh, Rombert, 466 



Valenciennes, 51 e/ passim 
Valois see also under Chris- 
tian names, Elizabeth of, 



69, 76; Margaret of, 305, 314; 

efforts to further Anjou's 

cause, 355 
Vargas, 194 

Vassery, Jeanne de, 301 
Vaucelles, truce of, 58 
Victoria, 2 et seq. 
Vieilleville, Marquis de (Fran- 
cois de Scepeaux), 82 
Viglius van Aytta (president 

of the council), letter, 150; 

mentioned, 154, 249, 343, 

etc. 
Villabos, Ruy Lopez de, 5 
Villiers, Pierre, secretary of 

Orange, 391, 394, 460 
Voorne, island of, 228 

W 

Walramian branch of Nassau 

family, 9 
Walsingham, Sir Francis, 474 
Washington, George, 482, 485 

et passim 
Waveren, battle near, 205 
Werf, Adrian van der (Ver- 

meer), 273 et seq. 
Wesembeck, Jacques de, 207 
Wilhelmuslied, 239 et seq., 495 
Wiltberg, Henry von, tutor 
of Philip William of Nas- 
sau, 107, 190, 193 
Woltersdorff, Ulrich, 107 
Worms, diet of, 2, 13 et passim 
Wurtemberg, 2 



Zell, Nicholas, 189 

Zierikzee, effect of fall of, 340 

et seq. 
Zimmermann, 422 et seq. 
Zoeterwoude, 283 et seq. 
Zwieten, Cornelius van, 273 



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Heroes of the Nations 



A Series of biographical studies of the lives and 
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Morris. 
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Alexander White. 
THE CID CAMPEADOR. By H 

Butler Clarke. 
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Poole. 
BISMARCK. By J. W. Headlam. 
ALEXANDER THE GREAT. By 

Benjamin I. Wheeler. 
CHARLEMAGNE. By H. W. C 

Davis. 
OLIVER CROMWELL. By 

Charles Firth. 
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DANIEL O'CONNELL. By Rob- 
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SAINT LOUIS (Louis IX. of 

France). By Frederick Perry. 
LORD CHATHAM. By Walford 

Davis Green. 
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G. Bradley. 
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Firth. 



HEROES OF THE NATIONS 



FREDERICK THE GREAT. By 

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Morris. 
CONSTANT1NE THE GREAT. 

By J. B. Smith. 
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WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 
By F. M. Stenton. 

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GREECE. Prof. Jas. A. Harrison. 

ROME. Arthur Gilman. 

THE JEWS. Prof. James K. Hos- 
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CHALDEA. Z. A. Ragozin. 

GERMANY. S. Baring-Gould. 

NORWAY. Hjalmar H. Boyesen. 

SPAIN. Rev. E. E. and Susan 
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HUNGARY. Prof. A. Vambdry. 

CARTHAGE. Prof. Alfred J. 

Church. 

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THE- MOORS IN SPAIN. Stanley 
Lane-Poole. 

THE NORMANS. Sarah Orne 
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PERSIA. S. G. W. Benjamin. 

ANCIENT EGYPT. Prof. Geo. 
Rawlinson. 

ALEXANDER'S EMPIRE. Prof. 
J. P. Mahaffy. 

ASSYRIA. Z. A. Ragozin. 

THE GOTHS. Henry Bradley. 

IRELAND. Hon. Emily Lawless. 

TURKEY. Stanley Lane-Poole. 

MEDIA, BABYLON, AND PER- 
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MEDIAEVAL FRANCE. Prof. Gus- 
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HOLLAND. Prof. J. Thoroid 
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MEXICO. Susan Hale. 

PHCENICIA. George Rawlinson. 



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Stanley Lane-Poole. 
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D . Morrison. 
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W. C. Oman. 
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OF SPAIN. H. E. Watts. 
AUSTRALASIA. Grevffle Tregar- 

then. 
SOUTHERN AFRICA. Geo. M 

Theal. 
VENICE. Alethea WeiL 
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and C. L. Kingsf ord. 
VEDIC INDIA. Z. A. Ragozin. 
BOHEMIA. C. E. Maurice. 
CANADA. J. G. Bourinot. 
THE BALKAN STATES. William 

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"W. Frazer. 
MODERN FRANCE. Andre" LeBon. 
THE BRITISH EMPIRE. Alfred 

T. Story. Two vols. 
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Justin McCarthy, M.P. Two 

vols. 
AUSTRIA. Sidney Whitman. 
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MODERN SPAIN. Major Martin 

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THE SOUTH AMERICAN RE 
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PARLIAMENTARY ENGLAND. 
Edward Jenks. 

MEDIEVAL ENGLAND. Maiy 



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PARLIAMENT. L. Cecil Jane. 
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A.D. 14. E. S. Shuckburgh. 
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